The Beat of My Heart
by ThexHushxSound
Summary: *Key's Keeper Sequel* Sora is alone as he ventures through Castle Oblivion, trying to hold on to memories of his past. Katy is lost in a world where she knows nothing but her name. Organization XIII is counting on them to fail. Will they ever reunite?
1. The Cards Apparently Are God

**Authors Note: It's the moment you've all been waiting for! Chapter one of the sequel of The Key's Keeper! **

Disclaimer: I still don't own Kingdom Hearts. I just own Katy, Ryan, and Cassie

Normal POV

_Katy POV

* * *

_

There were no Heartless, that was a plus right there. There was soft green grass lining a long, winding dirt road. Green trees also dotted the landscape around them, along with the occasional flower. The trio ran down the road, hope on the horizon, believing with all their hearts that everything would work out in the end.

* * *

_Nowhere_

_Katy blinked once, twice, three times before she realized that she was seeing only white because that was all there was. She stood up and looked around her. It looked so familiar, but she couldn't remember why. Sighing to herself, she began to walk._ _Maybe if she walked for a little bit she could remember where she was supposed to be right now…_

**

* * *

  
**

As night fell, Sora, Donald, and Goofy wandered from the dirt road and fell asleep in the grass. The animals slept peacefully, but Sora's slumber was plagued by nightmares. He shot up in a cold sweat and looked around; making sure his dream had really been just that, a dream. He smiled at the sight of Donald and Goofy conked out a few feet away before getting up and taking a walk to clear his thoughts. As he made his way through the dark meadow he began to feel as though he was being watched. He was proven correct when a voice spoke from behind him.

"Along the road ahead lies something you need..."

Sora whipped around, only to find that no one was there. However the prickling feeling of being watched didn't leave him and he whipped around again. Standing a little a ways from his was a figure in a black cloak who continued speaking.

"However-- in order to claim it, you must lose something that is dear to you."

By this point Donald and Goofy had awakened and they continued following the path down until they reached a giant castle. Sora strode confidently into the odd looking structure, the talking animals following closely behind.

"Hey, ya think its okay to barge in?" Goofy asked nervously

"But we've gotta do it. If we're gonna find the king…" Donald justified

"The King?! King Mickey's here?!" Goofy exclaimed, looking around for any sign of their mousy leader.

"Something just told me he'd be here, okay?" Donald bit back defensively.

"Really? 'Cause now that you mention it, I was kinda thinking the same thing." Goofy admitted scratching his head.

"Seriously?! Me too! One look at this place and I just knew! (Ha rhyming! xD)

"Guess great minds think alike." Goofy said, chuckling

"Wait, hey, hold on! It can't be just a coincidence!" Jiminy Cricket chimed in, hopping up on Sora's shoulder.

"Oh, no, Jiminy. Ya don't mean that--" Donald began

"Yep, I had it too. Mmhm, I had the exact same feeling!"

"Gawrsh, maybe it's contagious!" Goofy exclaimed

"No, no. Something's screwy. We gotta go take a look." Donald said firmly.

"Alright." Sora said, beginning to walk further into the castle.

"Wak! Where are you going?!" Donald exclaimed

"That way, to the door" Sora said simply. "What, are ya scared?"

"Aw, don't be ridiculous. Let's go! C'mon Goofy."

"Hey, fellas, shouldn't we shut the door behind us before we go?" Goofy asked.

Since he got no answer, the king's warrior decided to go shut it himself. Turning to do so, he gasped;

"Sora!"

Sora and Donald whipped around to face the same figure that confronted Sora in the meadow earlier. The door swung shut lazily behind him, the lock sounding with a faint click.

"That's it! Who are you?!" Sora demanded, drawing the Keyblade.

The figure said nothing and began to advance.

"WAK! Heartless! Oh, yeah? I'll try some magic!" Donald exclaimed, raising his staff.

"THUNDER!"

Nothing happened. The duck looked at his staff, annoyed

"Come on, THUNDER! THUNDER!!"

Still nothing.

"Come on…blizzard? FIRE!"

It was obvious at this point that magic was not going to be able to help them. Donald sighed in defeat.

"Why isn't it working?"

"I should think it's obvious. The moment you set foot in this castle, you forgot every spell and ability you ever knew." The figure answered, sounding quite smug.

The trio looked at him blankly

"In this place to find is to lose and to lose is to find. That is the way in Castle Oblivion." The figure continued, ignoring the clueless faces of those in front of him.

"Castle Oblivion?" Sora inquired

The figure disappeared and reappeared behind Sora.

"Here you will meet people you have known in the past. And you will meet people you miss." The cloaked man continued

"I miss?" Sora muttered to himself. Realizing what the man was getting at, he gasped.

"Riku! You mean Riku's here?!"

"If what you want…is to find him…" The man began before shooting a whirlwind of dark magic at him. Sora stumbled backward at the force of it, but managed to keep himself upright. He spun around since the mad was once again behind him and swung a well aimed blow to his head. It backfired when the figure disappeared in a cloud of…rose petals? Appearing at the top of a staircase, the trio ran to confront him.

"What'd you do?!" Sora demanded

"I merely sampled your memories. With them, I made this." The figure said, holding up a blue card with a picture of Traverse Town on it.

"To reunite with those you hold dear--" The man began, tossing the card to Sora who caught it.

"What's this, a card?" Sora asked, puzzled

"A promise for the reunion you seek. Hold the card to open the door and beyond it, a new world. Proceed, Sora. To lose and claim anew or, to claim anew, only to lose…" The man said as his vanished in a mix of swirling darkness and rose petals.

Sora studied the card in his hand, a determined look on his face.

"Come on, let's go." Sora said, striding to the door and holing the blue hard up in front of it.

The card began to glow and the door opened. The trio strode through and was blinded by a flash of light.

**

* * *

**

Taking in his new surroundings, Sora frowned.

"This can't be right, we're in Traverse Town!"

"What you see isn't real." The figure said from a few feet ahead of Sora.

He teleported behind Sora and continued

"This is an illusion created by your memories ingrained in that card."

"My memories?" Sora asked, confused.

"Forget about that, Sora! We lost Donald and Goofy!" Jiminy exclaimed, jumping down from Sora's shoulder.

Sora whipped around, confirming what the cricket said

"Donald? Goofy? Guys, where are you?"

He turned back to the cloaked man and glared

"What did you do with them?!"

"They are at the mercy of the cards now. Master the cards, and their strength will be yours again. The laws of this castle require that your friends be turned into cards. If you value your friends, you won't fail to pick them up. Use them, and your friends will come to your aid." The figure explained, tossing Sora a card that had a picture of Donald on it.

"Everything in this castle is ruled by cards. Whether an enemy or a door confronts you, cards are the only way to proceed, but you mustn't forget your own strength." The man drawled on.

Hearing footsteps behind him, Sora spun around just in time to see Donald and Goofy walk up.

"Are you two all right? Where have you been?" Sora asked, concerned

"You tell us! When you opened the door, we saw a strange light—and the rest is just…blank" Donald bit back, scowling.

"Gee, that doesn't help. Try to remember what happened. I have to keep my journal up to date." Jiminy prompted.

Before Donald could come up with a retort, Goofy brought a new development to light

"Hey, Donald, where'd I get the new clothes?"

Startled, Donald looked down at his own clothing.

"Wak?! Me too, Goofy. Someone's been messing with our clothes!"

Sora looked back at the cloaked man, suspiciously.

"Could it be the cards again?"

"That is for you to ponder. Master the cards and make your way through the castle, but from here, you walk alone." He answered the smugness from before creeping back into his voice.

"Alone?! We can't let Sora go alone!" Goofy exclaimed

"Yeah! Sora can't do anything without our help!" Donald stated with a snicker.

"Thanks a lot, Donald." Sora said with an eye roll

"You sure you'll be okay?" Goofy asked, nervously.

"Of course!" He answered with a grin. Turning back to the figure, he smirked. "You want me to go alone? Fine. I can take care of myself."

The man scoffed.

"Hmph, the hero speaks boldly. Go, then. The rest of Castle Oblivion awaits. Walk the avenues of latent memory, and you shall meet someone dear to you." He said in his monotone, flight attendant voice as he vanished into a dark corridor.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" Jiminy said nervously, shaking his head.

": Relax, Jiminy. I'm ready for any tricks he's got up his sleeve. How hard can it be to figure out these cards? All I have to do is use one in front of that door over there."

Sora did just that, and the second walked over the threshold, he found himself alone. Fighting the Heartless with cards was definitely more difficult. His every movement was restricted and the force of his strikes was determined by the card's power. Managing to clear the first room, he approached the next door and used a card with the appropriate number to get it to open. Sighing to himself, he entered. It was going to be a long journey.

**

* * *

**

_**Nowhere**_

_Walking had grown tiring and Katy decided to sit down and rest for awhile. There was an odd feeling in her stomach, one that seemed to be trying to direct her to where she needed to be, but the effort was fruitless. There was nothing here but an endless expanse of white. Sighing she lied on her back and closed her eyes. After a few minutes she began to hear a faint buzzing. Opening her eyes and sitting up, she frowned as the noise got louder. It was coming from somewhere to her left. Getting up and following the phantom sound, she gasped. The whiteness seemed to part and formed some kind of window. Through it, she could see a boy. He was engaged in a fight with an odd, bunny-like creature. She found herself holding her breath until the battle was over, sighing with relief when he came out unscathed. She didn't know why she cared so much, but this boy looked so familiar. Maybe she'd known him from a time before the whiteness? She sat down again; pretzel legged and continued to watch as he made his way through the place he was in. She couldn't hear anything, she could only see, but that seemed to be enough. Her body relaxed and the funny feeling in her stomach disappeared. She was content to watch this boy, whoever he was. Being able to know if he was okay seemed to bring peace to her otherwise confused mind._

**READ THIS!**

**A/N****: Okay, so I take pride in the fact that I'm not a review whore, but in the past, whenever I write a sequel for something, it's like all my reviewers disappear. So, for the first few chapters I'm going to be a tiny bit mean. Five reviews till the next chapter please? I just want to make sure you guys are all still out there and interested. Thanks!!**


	2. I'm Not Pretending Not to Know You

**Authors Note: Okay, you guys are still alive...most of you anyway. Here comes the looooooong list. Kudos to: ZuZu-Chan,SUNTAN140, BlackEmoElmo AKA DevineBlueSky,soraroxas365, NinjaSheik, keywieldinglegend, and Wormo the Green Lantern for reviewing. Also a big thanks to: Bloody'n'ScarredHitomi and ZuZu-Chan for adding BoMH to story alert/favorite story/author alert/favorite author. Enjoyyyyy :)**

Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable. Just Katy...even though she's technically not part of the story right now.

* * *

Sora entered the next room, having used a Tranquil Darkness card on the door previous to it. He took out the limited Heartless and finally stopped to take a breather.

"Hmm, fighting alone isn't as easy as I thought…" Sora said to himself, panting slightly

He'd come to realize that the cards he used to unlock doors determined the amount and strength of the Heartless within them. It was almost as if he was recreating Traverse Town to his liking. Behind him, two lights fell from the sky, turning into Donald and Goofy with a loud pop, causing Sora to nearly jump out of his abnormally large shoes

"Aha! Don't pop out of nowhere like that!"

"Hey, it's not our fault! We don't know what's going on!" Donald said, tapping his foot impatiently

"A-hyuck?!" Goofy exclaimed, looking at a spot behind Sora's head.

Turning to see what had him so interested; Sora came face to face with the King's dog.

"Pluto?!"

"Things keep getting stranger. What's Pluto doing here?!" Donald asked, scowling

"There's nothing strange about that. We came to Traverse Town with Pluto, didn't we?" He asked his comrade

"Did we?" Donald asked, unsure

"No, wait! According to my journal, it was before you met Sora that you came to town with Pluto!" Jiminy piped from Sora's shoulder.

"Wak! He's right! We were chasing after Pluto, and that's how we ended up in Castle Oblivion!" Donald exclaimed

"But aren't we in Traverse Town?" Goofy asked, scratching his head.

"Well, it's not really Traverse Town. I think the card created this Traverse Town inside Castle Oblivion!" Jiminy tried to explain even though it wasn't making much sense to him

Sora groaned and covered his ears.

"Aaghh! Who cares about all that? It's too confusing! I don't know where we are, but let's just keep moving forward defeating Heartless! We'll get somewhere!"

"You better be careful, or it's the Heartless that are going to defeat you." A familiar voice said from behind Sora.

Tuning around, Sora grinned at the sight of Leon.

"Leon, it's you! What are you doing in Castle Oblivion?"

"Castle Oblivion? What are you talking about? This is Traverse Town. And how do you know my name? Who are you?" Leon asked, brow furrowing.

"What!?" Sora exclaimed, slightly hurt.

"I've never met the likes of you before." Leon said firmly.

"Quit playing, Leon! We fought the Heartless together! You know that!" Sora exclaimed, angrily

"Look, I don't know what you're talking about. I don't even know your names."

"You don't?"

Leon turned his back to them, crossing his arms.

"…Sorry."

"I can't believe it. How can you have forgotten about us?" Sora protested, not wanting to believe what he was hearing

"I feel for you, but you've got the wrong guy it happens all the time. Don't take it too personally, Sora." Leon said.

They all noticed the slip up, including Leon.

"You DO know his name!" Donald exclaimed

Leon whirled around to face them, looking alarmed

"Now, now hold on! Why do I know your name?" He demanded, eyes narrowing.

"You think Leon's just playing around?" Goofy whispered to Donald.

"If he is, it's not funny. Sora's really upset." Donald whispered back

Apparently they weren't very good at whispering because Leon heard them.

"Who's kidding around Goofy? You and Donald are the ones who--"

"Hey!" Donald exclaimed, angrily.

Leon rested his head in his hand

" I don't get it…Something's wrong with my memory. What's happening here?"

"I dunno, Leon. Maybe Aerith was onto something after all." Another familiar voice chimed in.

Yuffie ran up, grinning as she continued her theory

"She said she sensed some uncanny kind of power and asked us to look into it. This is as uncanny as it gets. Maybe you should take Sora to see Aerith"

"Yuffie, you know my name!" Sora said happily

"Yep! Looks like you know mine, too!" Yuffie said her grin unfaltering.

"You know him?" Leon asked Yuffie, a bit surprised

"Nope! Total stranger, but I definitely know his name. Strange, yes, but convenient! We can skip introductions!" Yuffie said happily, bouncing in place slightly

"How is it that you can accept this situation so easily? I don't get you…" Leon said, shaking his head at his energetic friend.

"Well, I'm gonna run ahead and fill Aerith in. Leon, you give them the grand tour. See ya later!" Yuffie chirped, ignoring Leon's comment completely and running off with Pluto in tow."

" … I guess it's no use pondering over it. Come on, follow me. There are Heartless wandering around town so you better be careful. Here, I picked this up. Try to make good use of it" Leon said, still shaking his head as he tossed Sora a Simba card.

They trudged to the small house in the Third District to meet Aerith.

"Aerith, have you forgotten me too?" Sora asked, defeat creeping into his voice.

"I don't know whether to say "nice to meet you" or "good to see you again." I don't think I know you, but I still feel like you belong here." The young woman said slowly, not wanting to upset Sora more.

"Yeah, exactly! Like we've never met, but it still doesn't feel weird knowing your name." Yuffie chimed in

"But I'm telling you, we HAVE met. We took on the Heartless together. We were a team!" Sora exclaimed, exasperated.

"It feels like you're right…But I can't remember." Leon said, trying to reassure him.

"Then I guess you won't remember what you told me. In Hollow Bastion, when I sealed the Keyhole: "We may never meet again…"

"…but we'll never forget each other." Leon finished, the words coming easily

"See, you do remember!" Sora cheered

"He's right, Leon! I remember you saying that, too!" Yuffie said, brightly

"I guess I can't write it off as a coincidence then." Leon said, pinching the bridge of his nose

"I don't have any memory of it, but somehow I still remember. I think your heart is doing the remembering for us." Aerith reasoned

"My…heart?" Sora asked, confused

"We don't know you, Sora, but your heart is full of memories of us together. Those memories must resonate in our hearts, too. Maybe they tell us things we couldn't otherwise know." Aerith explained

"So you're saying that Sora's memories are affecting ours?" Leon summarized.

"His memories do seem to have a certain power." Aerith confirmed

"Maybe it's like that guy said, then. This town is just an illusion. Something my memories created." Sora said more to himself than the others.

"And…there's someone special to you in this town?" Aerith asked, looking surprised at her own words.

"How did you—Ah, I get it. My memories are resonating with yours, telling you what happened. Yeah. A friend of mine is somewhere in this town—I mean, Castle Oblivion."

"Castle Oblivion? What's that? There aren't any castles in here." Yuffie said although she sounded unsure.

"You're still not sure what's going on yourself, right?" Aerith asked Sora.

"Right. We just got here, after all. I want to take a better look around."

"Then go have a walk around town. There are Heartless, but that's no problem for you." Leon stated

"So you know I can fight?" Sora asked, smugly

"I can't say I know, but I feel like believing in you. Let's leave it at that." Leon answered, crossing his arms

Sora grinned and turned to leave when Yuffie called out.

"Hey, Sora? Don't you have a friend? A girl, with purple hair?"

Sora turned back, startled

"Yes. I remember her too. You were quite attached to her, right?" Aerith inquired.

"Yeah, her name was…_is_ Katy. She had an accident but I think she'll be okay." Sora said, uneasily

He really didn't want to talk about Katy right now.

Aerith smiled sadly at him

"I hope she feels better soon."

Sora nodded and exited the house, using a card to enter a new room.

**

* * *

**

_**Nowhere**_

"_Hey? Hey! Are you alright?"_

_The girl opened her eyes slowly, squinting in the dim light._

"_Ryan?" she asked in a hoarse voice._

"_No, my name's Sora."_

_The girl sat up slowly, her long purple hair flowing behind her._

"_Where are we?" she asked, her sea-foam green eyes searching for some sort of answer in his deep blue ones._

"_I don't know." He answered truthfully, wishing he could reassure her more._

_She groaned and lied back down on the ground._

"_Wonderful."_

_A new "window" had opened up to the side of the one showing the boy she was watching. This new one seemed to be displaying her memories. It wasn't helping very much, however and she wished she could hear what they were saying. It looked like they boy was introducing himself to her. She had a feeling that if she knew his name, everything else would fall into place. Turning her attention to the other "window" she watched as the boy left the house where he'd been talking to more familiar-looking people and entered a new room. After destroying the enemies there, he began to search for cards to open the door to the next room. A sense of forbidding came over her and she panicked. Danger, there was danger in that room. She had to warn him, she _had_ to, there was no other option. Although she'd tried it numerous times before, Katy placed her hands in front of the image and pushed. Whereas last time she'd only been met with air, this time her palms brushed something solid-ish. She seemed to ooze through the "window" and found herself in the same place as the boy. He was staring at her with wide eyes._

"_Katy?" He asked. She could hear him now_

"_Be careful in there." She warned, feeling a force like a magnet pulling at her back_

_Just before she was sucked back into the nothingness, his hand brushed her cheek._

_Gasping for air as she fell on the floor in front of the "windows" Katy couldn't help but grin. She'd done it!_

_Her cheek still tingled where his fingers brushed it_

_Touching the spot lightly, she submitted to slumber. He would be okay, she knew he would._

_God help her if he wasn't._

**

* * *

**

Sora's hands shook as he held up the cards to enter the next room. She'd been standing right there. Had it even been real? Did he imagine it? No, it had to be. When he reached out to touch her face he'd felt skin. She _had_ been there, he was sure of it. Wandering around what he knew to be the Second District, Sora met up with Cid.

"Well, whaddaya know. It's Sora! Wait, what am I saying? I don't know you. But you LOOK like a Sora, what with the spiky hair and baggy pants…" Cid rambled on.

"Its okay, Cid. That's my name." Sora said. He was going to have to get used to the fact that no one remembered him.

"So! You've heard of me, eh? Well, I can't say I'm surprised." Cid said, proudly

"Anyway, maybe you can help me out. A friend of mine's supposed to be somewhere in this castle—er, town. Got any ideas?"

"Your friend, huh? Lately all this town sees is Heartless, can't even take two steps without getting attacked. In fact, this plaza's the worst. Word is, jumbo sized Heartless appear when that bell rings. If you value your hide, you'll get out of here while the getting's good." Cid said, referring to the bell on top of the Gizmo Shop.

As Cid left, Goofy turned to Sora, nervously

"Gawrsh, maybe we should leave."

"Don't you want to see the Heartless?" Sora teased

"NO, we DON'T!" Donald yelled, stamping his foot

The sound of a ringing bell filled the District

"The bell!" Donald exclaimed

"Be careful, Sora!" Goofy said before he and Donald disappeared.

A huge armored Heartless dropped from the sky. Sora only hesitated a moment before diving in, taking care of its legs and arms first and then hacking at the torso. Once the Heartless had been dismantled, Donald and Goofy reappeared along with Aerith and the others.

"So your friend wasn't here?" Yuffie asked

"No, I don't think I'll find him in this town, but he's somewhere in this castle, I just know it." Sora said, determined.

"Castle? Like this whole town's inside some humongous castle? Hoo, that's rich!" Cid laughed

"He's probably right, Cid. We may not understand what's going on, but Sora does. He can see that reality is bigger that just this world." Leon said, sounding grim as usual.

"I wish I was that sure." Sora said shaking his head

"You'll be okay, Sora. No matter what shape reality takes, you can handle it. I may not remember you, but I know you in my heart."

"Leon…"

"Take care, Sora." Yuffie chirped, waving slightly

"I'm a little lost…but best of luck anyway." Cid said, giving Sora a nod

They all trudged out of the District and Sora began to follow Donald and Goofy into the big door at the rear of the room. He felt the prickling feeling of being watched and turned around to see Aerith.

"What's up?" He asked

"I don't have all the answers, but I had to tell you something. Your memories created this town, right?" She asked him, sounding wary.

"That's what the guy who gave me the card said."

"If that's true than this town is just a fragment of your mind…and so are we."

"But…you can't be a figment! You're standing right there! This town is here, too!" Sora exclaimed

Aerith smiled sadly

"But I'm not really me. I don't remember the things I should and I sense things I shouldn't. Sora, beware your memories. In the journey to come you'll be faced with more illusions. Sometimes the shadows of your memory will deceive you, try to lead you astray."

"So, uh…what exactly does that mean?"

"I'm sorry. I'm just another illusion. The truth is out of my reach."

"Don't say stuff like that. It's depressing…" Sora said, looking at his feet

"Stay strong, Sora. Don't let the illusions distract you from what's truly important." Aerith said, giving him a small half-smile.

"…Okay." Sora said, his shoulders slumping a little

"Sora! Are you ready to go?" Donald called from behind him

"Yeah, be right there!" Sora called to Donald. "We'll I'd better get going…" Sora said, turning back to here Aerith was standing

Except she was gone

"Aerith? Aerith!" Sora called, looking around for her

"What about Aerith?" Donald asked, confused

"Where did she go? I just talked to her!" Sora exclaimed

"Aerith left with Leon and the others remember?" Goofy said slowly, eyeing Sora warily.

"Huh?!" Sora inquired, even more confused then before.

"You worried us. Just standing there by yourself." Donald said, looking at Sora with some concern.

"Is this what she meant?" Sora muttered to himself as he trudged after his friends.

**

* * *

**

_**Nowhere**_

"_Excuse me mister, Can you tell us where we are?" Katy asked_

"_You're in Traverse Town" The man answered back distractedly._

"_Traverse Town?"_

"_That's what I said isn't it!" He snapped back_

_Sora frowned._

"_Listen gramps--"_

"_Don't call me gramps, the name's Cid."_

"_Never mind. Now, let's see that Keyblade." _

_Leon leapt towards Sora, narrowly missing the boy's head. Sora brought the blade up and blocked the shot, rolling out of the way. The man continued to swing at him, Sora dodging what he could and hitting him when he had an opening. Finally the man slumped over, exhausted. Sora grinned._

"_Now…you're…gonna…you're…gonna…" and then he passed out._

"_WHAT. DID. YOU. DO?!" Katy's angry voice shrieked as she knelt next to Sora's prone form._

"_Easy, kid. We're not gonna hurt him." Leon tried to reason._

_After much coaxing, Leon managed to convince Katy to let them take her and the still unconscious Sora to the hotel in the Second District. Katy agreed, mostly because she didn't really think she'd be a match for the both of them, even __with__ her swords. At the hotel, the girl Introduced herself as Yuffie and promised that all would be explained when Sora woke up._

_Donald Duck." Donald introduced himself, extending his hand._

"_Name's Goofy." Goofy did the same, putting his hand on top of Donald's._

"_Katy." Katy said, adding her hand to the mix._

"_I'm Sora." Sora finished, putting his hand on top._

"_All for one and one for all!" Goofy exclaimed and the party laughed._

_Soundless memories of people who she felt she knew but had no names to put to faces were broadcasted on the window. Katy had woken up a few minutes after the battle between the monster and her figment was over._

_Yes, she'd begun to think of him as a figment—her figment._

_His face seemed to taunt her as she struggled to remember who he was. We ever she tried to place him in her mind, all she got was a searing pain in her chest._

_Sighing, Katy continued to watch her figment through the first window, keeping an eye on the second for any familiar memories._

_She felt as though it was her job to look out for him._

_If she didn't, who would?_

* * *

Proceeding through the last door in Traverse Town, the trio found themselves back on the first floor of Castle Oblivion, face to face with the man in black…again.

"Well, Sora, did you enjoy meeting your memories?" He asked in his annoyingly calm voice.

"Yeah, it was nice to see everyone, but…what do you really want from me?" Sora asked

"What do you have to give?" The figure replied, striding towards them

A dark corridor opened behind the cloaked man and he stopped advancing on Sora and the others. Out of the corridor came a tall, rather skinny man with obnoxiously red hair and searing emerald green eyes.

"Hello!" He said, smirking as he observed the scene in front of him.

"What do _you_ want?" The figure asked the red-haired man, obviously annoyed.

"No hogging the hero." The man answered with a sadistic grin.

The cloaked man turned slowly towards him and tossed a blue card at him before speaking.

"Then perhaps _you'd_ like to test him."

"Perhaps I would." He replied smirking as the man in black retreated into his own dark corridor. He turned to Sora and the others, smirk still in place.

"My show now Keyblade Master. Who am I? Oh, my name's Axel. Got it memorized?"

"Uh…sure?" Sora answered more than a little confused as to what the hell was going on.

"Good, you're a quick learner! So, Sora, now that we're getting to know each other better…" Axel paused to summon two giant flaming chakrams. "Don't you go off and die on me now." Axel sneered, the sadistic glint back in his eyes.

Axel was relentless. His chakrams were extremely large and pointy, so tiny bleeding cuts that hurt like hell were inevitable. It didn't help that his weapons were on fire either. He would have been able to win easier if it weren't for the damn cards he was being forced to use. The hindered his ability and allowed Axel to get more hits in. Finally, Sora delivered the final blow and Axel disappeared, leaving a set of blue cards in his wake.

"More? What do they do?" Goofy asked as Sora shuffled through the cards.

"It kind of looks like the card you used when you made Traverse Town." Jiminy said, appearing on Sora's shoulder.

"Then I guess we're going to need it to keep going." Sora reasoned

"That's right." Axel's smug voice came from behind him.

Whipping around, Sora had to hold back a groan when he saw the red-haired man. He was getting on his nerves.

"Did you really think, after that introduction, I would give up oh-so-easily?" Axel asked, striding towards them.

"You were testing us." Sora stated.

"And you passed Congratulations, Sora. You're ready now, ready to take on Castle Oblivion. You will need to follow your memories, trust what you remember and seek what you forget. Then you will find someone very special."

"Ya mean King Mickey and Riku?" Goofy asked.

"You'll just have to give a little more thought to whose most important to you. Our most precious memories lie so deep within our hearts that they're out of reach, but I'm sure that you can find yours, Sora." Axel said in a patronizing tone.

"Why me?" Sora asked

Yes, that's pretty much the question of the ENTIRE GAME SERIES.

"You have lost sight of the light within the darkness and it seems that you've forgotten what you forgot."

"The light within…darkness?" Sora asked, puzzled

Axel's smirk grew wider

"Would you like me to give you a hint?"

Sora fell silent, frowning at the floor, trying to remember what he forgot that he'd forgotten.

"Sora, do you need it?" Goofy asked, looking worried

Axel continued to stand there looking expectant.

"No, I'm gonna figure it out for myself." Sora said, determined. "And if you're in my way…" He drew his Keyblade, threateningly

Axel snickered

"Good answer. Just what I'd expect from the Keyblade Master. But be forewarned, when your sleeping memories awaken, you may no longer be who you are now." Axel said cryptically before disappearing into a dark corridor.

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**A/N****: Okay, so 5 reviews to the next chapter??? Please and thank you! :)**


	3. The Centaur Didn't Get Any Prettier

**Authors Note: Sorry for the wait! I had this huge science project I had to do all week. First off, thanks to my reviewers: soraroxas365, ****keywieldinglegend, CatchingForRain, TheDarkprincess15, Wormo the Green Lantern, and NinjaSheik. Thanks also to: CatchingForRain and Foofoogurly2000 for adding BoMH to story alert/favorite story. And of course thanks to all of you who read, but choose not to review. You all rock as well!!! Chapter four might be up today, depending on what I'm doing. Hope everyone enjoys the Superbowl. Go Colts!**

Disclaimer: I don not own anything belonging to Kingdom Hearts. Just Katy.

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With Axel out of their way, the trio headed up to the second floor. After a few seconds of silence, Jiminy got Sora's attention

"What's wrong?" Sora asked

"What Axel said back there worries me. What could he have meant by "you may no longer be who you are?"

"I may no longer be me? How could I be anyone else?" Sora asked, trying to reassure the paranoid cricket.

"Of course! But still, you can't be too careful."

"Yeah, it seems like anything could happen here in Castle Oblivion." Goofy said

"We'll be okay! Whatever they've got cooking up, we'll be able to handle it together."

"'Course we will! Just like we did in that creepy castle we explored together! The one with all those weird contraptions."

Sora thought back, but couldn't think of a name, in fact, he only vaguely knew what Goofy was talking about.

"When was that?" Sora asked, wracking his brain

"Uh…" Donald replied "I can't remember. What was it called?"

"Gawrsh, oh, it was uh…Holla, Holly, Holler, sorry. I can't remember." Goofy said, shrugging

"Wak! Stop goofing around!" Donald scolded

"Goofy, sure you didn't make it up?" Sora asked

"I don't think so…" Goofy replied, sounding unsure.

A bit unsettles, the trio made their way to the door at the rear of the room and Sora held up a card with a picture of the Olympus Coliseum. Sure enough, as they progressed through the door, the gates of the Coliseum stood before them. Donald walked over to the large chalkboard in front of the entrance;

"Look, an announcement!"

Sora and Goofy ran over, Jiminy hopping off of Sora's shoulder to get a better look.

"Hmmm…It's for some sort of contest. They're calling it the "Olympus Coliseum Survival Cup." Contenders have to run an obstacle course, battling each other on the way. And listen to this: "The great hero Hercules will also compete for the cup. It says here he's never been beaten."

"Sounds like fun. Why don't we enter, too?" Sora said, looking excited

"I thought you'd say that. Whenever there's a contest, you're rarin' to join up." Goofy said, rolling his eyes

"You're going to compete even if we don't, right?" Donald asked, already anticipating the answer.

Sora grinned cheekily

"Uh-huh"

"Guess we'd better tag along, then." Donald replied, sighing

"Hold it, everyone. There's more… "Only contenders who finish the preliminary course may enter the main competition." It says the preliminary course is just ahead." Jiminy finished.

"Than what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Sora said, running for the gates, the others following

Had they stuck around, they would have seen Hades stride up and look at the sign

"Hercules is a model of true strength and gallantry—the perfect hero"?! Oh he's perfect all right. PERFECTLY INFURIATING!! Just thinking about that little sunspot makes me boil! HOO I'd like to drag him into the Underworld!" Hades fumed to himself

" Which is why you hired me." A voice stated from behind him

Hades turned to see a blonde man with a long dark cape and a lethal looking sword standing behind him.

"That's right. You're my man…Cloud, is it? Your job is to beat Hercules in the games. And once you've got him cornered…finish the job. Do that for me and--"

"You restore my lost memories. As we agreed." Cloud finished

"You have my word."

Cloud nodded and started towards the preliminaries while Hades retreated to The Underworld

After clearing the preliminaries, Sora and the gang made there way into the Coliseum lobby. They were currently faced with a very ill mannered centaur named Phil.

"Huh? Where did you come from? Don't tell me you guys finished the prelims!" Phil asked, looking them over in disbelief.

"We sure did! And now we want to go for the Cup!" Sora said with pride

"Well, you came to the right place. Not that you stand a chance against Herc…"

"Why not?!" Donald demanded

"Two words. You ain't heroes!" Phil yelled

"You're wrong!" Sora insisted

"Yeah, he said three words." Goofy pointed out

"Exactly…but that's not the point! How can we prove we're heroes unless you give us a chance?"

Hercules decided to stride in at that moment. He rolled his eyes at the stubborn centaur.

"He's right, Phil. They cleared the prelims. I think they deserve a shot."

"Hmm…you got a point there, Herc. But still--"

"Of course, we could always cancel the games."

"Cancel them? What for?" Sora asked, alarmed

"Old Phil's prelim course was so hard; no one else could finish it." Hercules laughed

"Is that right? Well, if you let us compete, you won't have to cancel the games! How about it, Phil?" Sora asked, grinning cheekily

"Okay, you got me over a barrel, so fine. Here's how it works, kid--" Phil began

"It's Sora—not "kid." Sora interrupted

"Sure, sure, kid. Since your team and Hercules are the only contenders--"

"No they're not." A voice said from behind them

Three guesses who? If you guessed Cloud, then yay! You're right!

"The games have a new challenger. Name's Cloud."

"The more the merrier! Now the games will really be something to see!" Phil exclaimed

"I'm looking forward to this. Don't expect me to pull any punches!" Hercules joked

"Hey, as long as you don't expect me to take them! Let's give it our best." Sora said back, grinning

Cloud rolled his eyes

"Okay, let's get this show going! But first I gotta explain a few rules…"

When Phil was finally done rambling, he lined Sora, Herc, and Cloud up at the entrance to the obstacle course.

"All right, enough with the spiel. On your marks… Get set…GO!!" The centaur said, flailing his arms on the word "go"

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_**Nowhere**_

"_Ohmygosh! It's a freaking centaur!" Katy exclaimed, bouncing in place._

_The centaur whipped around and Katy frowned and cocked her head to the side._

"_I though centaurs were supposed to be pretty, like in Harry Potter."_

"_Who's Harry Potter?" Sora asked_

_Katy's eyes got big as she stared at the other teen in disbelief._

"_You don't have Harry Potter where you live?"_

"_Uh, no."_

_Sora walked over to Cloud, going to help him up, when his path was blocked by a giant three headed dog. It took all of Katy's self control not to scream._

"_You're bleeding."_

_Katy looked at her arm, which ad a huge chunk missing. It took a lot not to throw up._

"_Heh, yeah I guess I am." She giggled_

"_Look, don't move. I'm gonna go get help."_

_Kay didn't hear him; she had broken into a fit of hysterical laughter. The air around her felt too think and heavy and hey eyes kept sliding out of focus. It barley registered when someone lifted her into their arms and carried her inside._

_Watching as her arm was nearly torn off in the same place her figment was now, an uneasy feeling began to form in the pit of her stomach. There was something else too, someone else who'd been there who she wasn't seeing now. Someone dangerous. She'd tried to go through the "window" again, to warn her figment of danger, but it had been sealed off, leaving her trapped in the nothing. _

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Sora made his way through the obstacle course warily, preparing himself for a battle with Cloud or Hercules every time he went through a door. He was rewarded for his paranoia when he met Cloud about four doors in.

"Gee, it was nice for him to let us catch up!" Goofy said, him and Donald magically appearing once more

"No! Remember, he can interfere with other contenders." Donald said, drawing his weapon.

"I'm not looking for a fight. Keep going." Cloud told them monotonusly

"See? He was waiting for us to catch up." Goofy insisted.

"Listen, are you sure?" Sora asked, wanting to win fairly

"I'm not here for the Cup, just Hercules. Today he loses more than the competition." Cloud answered, his back to them

"You don't mean…But why?!" Sora exclaimed, alarmed

"This is business. Stay out of it. Go win your Cup." Cloud said, getting annoyed

Sora drew his Keyblade, a defiant look on his face.

"Do you realize what you're doing?" Cloud asked, impatiently

"Hey, you can interfere with your opponents, right? You're not the only one who wants to fight Hercules." Sora reasoned a cocky grin on his face.

"Big mistake." Cloud said, menacingly, jumping at Sora with his big ass sword.

Fighting Cloud wasn't hard, just annoying. He had this giant combo thing he used every five seconds that was almost impossible to dodge. Sora couldn't help but wonder why _Cloud_ never seemed to run out of cards. The fight ended abruptly and Cloud fled the room.

"He's headed for the finish line! We'd better go after him!" Jiminy exclaimed

"Right!" Sora agreed, tearing after him.

After a few more rooms of the obstacle course, Sora finally found Hercules and Cloud, both of them extremely worn out

" It's over, Cloud Give it up!" Hercules said, slightly out of breath

"We're not done yet…" Cloud argued

"I can't guarantee your safety if we keep going like this" Hercules warned

"Better worry about yourself. Looks to me like you're slowing down a bit." Cloud shot back, pissed

"Ung…" Hercules tried to protest, but Cloud had called him out.

"Don't worry, I'll back you up!" Sora said, drawing the Keyblade and glaring at Cloud.

"Sora?" Hercules asked, confused

"Get all the backup you want. I'm going to finish this and get back my memories!" Cloud exclaimed.

"Your memories?!" Sora asked, alarmed. Everything was beginning to make sense now.

"Now, now, Cloud, we don't want to spill the beans." A voice from the shadows reasoned

Hades, god of The Underworld, emerged from somewhere behind Cloud, a smirk on his face.

"Hades! You!" Hercules exclaimed

"Looks like you oversold yourself. All you did was wear him down this doesn't look good for your performance rating…Let me put it this way: You, my spiky –haired friend, are fired." Hades told Cloud, sounding quite annoyed.

"What! But…my memories! We had a deal!" Cloud protested

"Did you really think you could get back your lost memories just like that? Get a grip!" Hades said, rolling his eyes.

"Why you--" Cloud started, drawing his weapon.

"Out of the way! I'll take care of Irk-ules myself!" Hades said, pushing Cloud aside

"Hey!" Sora yelled.

"Rule #5: It's never too late to enter the games." Hades recited with a smirk

"Hades, you were behind this from the start!" Hercules accused

"Cloud may have failed to figure it out, but he did break you down. Time for Plan B. Pack your pita, Herc 'cause you've just won a free trip to the Underworld—paid by me!" Hades said, sounding triumphant.

"Hold it!" Sora interrupted

" Sora, no!" Hercules exclaimed

"Come on, Herc—how can we go one-on-one if you're in the Underworld?" Sora reasoned

"Good point, kid. I guess you'll just have to go with him! Rule #6: There are no rules! Ha,ha!" Hades said, turning a very unflattering red color.

Let the fight begin!

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_**Nowhere**_

_Katy snapped._

_It had never been like this before. When Sora was in danger, or when they separated it was just an uncomfortable gut feeling. This was different. This was a white hot urgency that was spreading through her body that was screaming for her to do something; run, scream, kick, bite, claw, do whatever it took to get Sora and the others away from this man. It seemed like an eternity went by when in reality, it had been less than a second. The man had not yet placed his hand on Sora's shoulder. Then she realized it was because he wasn't moving. __No one__ was moving. Katy gave a slight cry and looked around. Everything was still and there was an eerie edge to it all. She could still hear her heart beating in her ears, still feel the adrenaline rushing through her bloodstream, and then for a moment she saw something that was impossible._

_Ryan was standing behind the flame-headed man._

_She cried out again, this time in happiness and took a step forward. Then it was like someone else took over her body. Suddenly she was pushing the man back, away from Sora, her blades had materialized and she was crouched into a threatening stance. Ryan had disappeared._

"_Stay. Away. Hades." She said through gritted teeth, her arms itching to bring the blades up and attack. The man held his hands up in surrender and backed away from her slowly._

_The second the blue-skinned man had entered, it clicked. _He_ was the danger. She desperately pushed against the image with her figment, willing herself to phase through, but it was no use. She could only cross her fingers and hope he'd come out in one piece._

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After defeating Hades, Sora and the others made their way back to the coliseum lobby where Phil gave them some depressing news.

"What?! The games are canceled? How come?" Sora exclaimed

"Two words. Everyone is pooped!" Phil yelled back

"Wait, that was more than two--" Goofy began

"You gotta be kidding! What about my match with Hercules?" Sora protested

"I'm sorry, Sora. But you wouldn't want me to compete in this condition. Let's have a match when I've rested up a bit. Can you wait?" Hercules asked the miffed Keyblade master.

"Okay. I'll hold you to that." Sora agreed

"Then it's settled" Herc said, satisfied.

"Sora, over here! He's coming around." Jiminy called from his place by Cloud.

"You okay?" Sora asked, concerned

"Yeah. Sorry I messed up your games." Cloud said, walking towards the exit.

"Hey! Hope you get your memories back! Forget about what Hades said. Sometimes the tiniest thing can make you remember stuff you forgot years ago. If it's an important memory, there's no way it could be gone forever. That's what I think, anyway." Sora said, confidently.

Cloud stopped walking and tossed Sora a card.

"That's for you. For helping me out." He said, walking towards the door once again.

"Sure you just don't want to come with us instead?" Sora asked.

"Not interested." Cloud replied, exiting through the Coliseum gates.

After saying their goodbyes, the trio went through the door that would take them back to Castle Oblivion.

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_**Nowhere**_

_He was okay. Katy sighed with relief and slumped down to the floor. The relief was over whelming and she found herself tired again. A new development had surfaced in her world of white. She began to hear voices. They were garbled and she'd concluded that they weren't coming from the windows, but they were voices all the same. Hopefully that meant she'd be waking up soon._

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As Sora, Donald, and Goofy made their way to the staircase to the next floor of the Castle, Goofy hesitated and began thinking. Uh-oh.

"Hmm…"

The others stopped and looked at him curiously.

"What's the matter?" Donald asked.

"It's that creepy castle that I was talking about earlier. I know I didn't imagine it 'cause that was the castle where Sora had to use the Keyblade to free Kairi's heart. Then he just disappeared and we were really worried, especially Katy. How could I ever forget that?"

"Oh, it was when I turned into a Heartless! Wait…that happened, in a castle?"

"Awww, you forgot that? "Cause I remember perfectly!" Donald said, proudly

"Then what's it called?" Sora challenged

"That's easy! It was…"

Long silence.

"Jiminy, help me… is it in your journal?"

"Every word! I finished the first volume right before we got to this castle! Now then, if I could just find it…Oh, here we go! Let's have a look…Oh! How could it be?!"

"What's the matter?" Goofy asked.

"All me entries, they're gone! Every page is blank!"

"What'll we do?!" Donald exclaimed.

"How could this have happened? I'm so careful with the journals… All that hard work is gone." Jiminy continued to babble.

"The journal's blank. What's going on?" Sora said to himself.

The party was silent as they trudged up the staircase to the third floor.

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**REVIEW!!!!!!!!!**


	4. Alice Didn't Get Any Less High

**Authors Note: Sorry for the wait, I've been at my cousins four the past couple of days. Thanks so much to: CatchingForRain, Wormo the Green Lantern, soraroxas365, and SnowWolf33 for reviewing. Also much kudos to XRarityoftearsX, SweetSoul3155, SexyZexy, and SnowWolf33 for checking those awesome alert boxes. Something drastic happens in this chapter! Well, I though it was drastic, but if you choose to describe it differently then that's your opinion! Believe me; you'll know when you read it! Enjoy!!**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Kingdom Hearts. Just Katy.

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"Something's screwy. Journal pages don't just vanish." Donald grumbled as the trio made their way to the 3rd floor of the castle.

"What if it's more than just journal pages?" Sora voiced, stopping short

"Huh?" His companions asked

"Goofy was telling us about another castle we'd been to, but, none of us really…remembers it. Do you think…could it be that we don't remember because we're losing our memories?" Sora answered

"Losing our memories?" Donald repeated, sounding worried

"Hold on! Remember what that mystery fellow said? In this place, to find is to lose and to lose is to find. It must be our memories he was talking about losing!" Jiminy reasoned

"So if we keep going…we'll lose more. Guess it really is Castle Oblivion." Sora said, sounding almost bitter.

"So the higher we go, the more we forget? Does that mean everything and everybody will be forgotten?" Donald asked

"Riku, Kairi, and…Katy too." Sora said more to himself than the others. He didn't know if he could handle forgetting about Katy, as much as he was trying not to think about her.

"Do you want…to go back?" Donald asked

Before Sora could answer, Goofy chimed in.

"Don't worry fellers. We might forget about where we've been and all the things we've seen, but we won't forget who our friends are."

"I don't know…" Donald said, obviously not convinced.

"C'mon, Sora. When you turned into a Heartless did you forget about Me, Donald, and Katy?"

"Of course not!" Sora replied

"There ya go! No matter what happens, you won't forget your friends."

They all fell silent for a few moments, thinking over Goofy's logic.

"I guess you're right. Thank you, Goofy." Sora said, feeling reassured

"So if there's nothing here that can make you forget about your friends, then we have nothing to be scared of! Let's go!" Donald cheered as he walked toward the stairs.

Resting his arms behind his head, Sora smirked and called out;

"But, when I turned into a Heartless, who was it that took forever to notice and kept clobbering me?"

Donald stiffened

"How come you didn't forget about that?" He asked with a scowl.

Sora and Goofy held back their snickers and followed their friend through the next door.

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_**Nowhere**_

_As quickly as they'd started, the strange voices Katy had been hearing stopped. In their place, another window had opened which made three in total. There was the one with her figment, the one with her memories and the newest one which showed her in present time. She was in the hospital, she knew that much. If it weren't for the numerous machines hooked up to her, she would have just assumed she was sleeping. Once again, she couldn't hear anything but she could see the people that came and went; doctors, nurses, and a boy and girl about her age. Sometimes they came together, sometimes separately but they were the only people that came to see her. They never stayed long, but they would talk to her and she wished she could hear them. Maybe they knew what happened to her and who her figment was…_

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The world they'd entered seemed relatively quiet…so there was probably some huge Heartless waiting to eat their brains hiding somewhere.

"Hey, somebody's comin'" Goofy said, looking up a long dirt path.

A white rabbit wearing a red coat, a pair of glasses and carrying a gold pocket watch was running at full speed towards them, ranting to itself.

"I'm late! I'm late! I'm dreadfully, awfully late! The queen will roast me for dinner! If I'm late for the trial, it'll be off with MY head next!"

"What do you mean, "off with your head"?!" Sora asked, a bit alarmed…he'd only been kidding about the brain thing.

"Oh my fur and whiskers! I'll never make it!" The rabbit wailed

Apparently it realized that it was never gong to get to the trial by whining to them about being late, so he scampered off. Leaving Sora and the others a bit uneasy

"Off with his HEAD?" Sora repeated, eyes wide

"For such a peaceful-looking place, it sounds pretty dangerous!" Donald replied, eying their surroundings

Entering the next door, Sora continued on his own for awhile, killing the Heartless and collecting the occasional treasure. Finally, he met up with Donald and Goofy once more in a fairly crowded room.

"Gawrsh, looks like some kind of get-together. What's the occasion?" Goofy asked, scratching his head

"Hey, this must be the trial the White Rabbit was talking about!" Donald exclaimed.

He was proven correct when the White Rabbit they'd seen before spoke up from the stands.

"Alice! Do you understand the charges against you?"

He spoke to a rather small blonde girl who was standing before the court.

"Of course not! I've done nothing wrong!" Said girl answered in a soft English accent. She sounded quite miffed.

"Feigning ignorance, dear? You are charged with aiding the creatures called Heartless who threaten my kingdom!" A woman, who was apparently the Queen, snapped back at Alice in a patronizing tone.

"Fiddlesticks! Where's the evidence?" Alice demanded

"The evidence is…I forgot! That's the evidence! Because you, Alice, are the one who stole my memory!" The Queen concluded.

Isn't her logic astounding?

"We can't rid the kingdom of Heartless until we get Her Majesty's memory back. This is a serious crime." The white Rabbit added, glaring at Alice over the top of his glasses.

"This is so unfair! So what if you're a queen! Don't blame me just because you can't remember things!" Alice said, stamping her foot.

"Such insolence! You're talking to the Queen of Hearts! And to think I might have let you go, had you apologized straight away! What a brazen thief!" The Queen spoke as if Alice wasn't there

Sora had heard enough.

"Who's the brazen one?" He said to himself as he began walking into the view of the court.

"Uh, Sora?" Goofy tried to protest.

"The court has reached a verdict! OFF WITH HER HEAD!" The Queen shrieked.

"Hold it! This trial is a farce! You should investigate before you arrest innocent people!" Sora said, coming to stand next to Alice

"What's the meaning of this? How dare you suggest Alice didn't steal my memory? I suppose you know who the real culprit is, then!" The Queen asked Sora, smugly

"Huh? I, er…" Sora hesitated.

"Speak! Or it's off with all of your heads! Now, out with it! Who's the thief?" The queen demanded

"Um…uh…I'm the thief!" He blurted out.

"Say that again!" The Queen exclaimed

"Gawrsh, really?" Goofy asked, surprised

"Of course not! But what else am I supposed to say?" Sora hissed

"This is really screwy, Sora" Donald said, tapping his foot impatiently

"Cards! Seize them all!" The Queen ordered

They spent the next twenty minutes battling off the Queen's card soldiers, who were more trouble than they looked. Those axes HURT.

"Whew…" Sora gasped, trying to catch his breath

"Wak! Where's Alice?" Donald asked, looking around for any sign of the blonde.

"Looks like she escaped." Goofy replied

"Perhaps she did, but YOU won't" The Queen said, ready to summon more cards

"Looks like we've been trumped." Donald helpfully pointed out.

"Run!" Sora exclaimed.

He _really _didn't want to fight anymore cards and apparently Donald and Goofy agreed because they followed him back into the Lotus Forest.

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_**Nowhere**_

_The white rabbit was standing on top of a raised platform, and was blowing into a trumpet._

"_Court is now in session!"_

_A tiny blonde girl in a blue dress, who was apparently the one being tried, covered her mouth with he hand._

"_I'm on trial? But why?" She said in a soft voice with an English accent._

_The rabbit took a deep breath before introducing the so called judge._

"_Her Majesty, the Queen of Hearts, presides!"_

_The Queen of Hearts leaned over the bench and glared at the blonde._

"_This girl is the culprit. There's no doubt about it. And the reason is…"_

_She gave a dramatic pause before yelling;_

"_BECAUSE I SAY SO, THAT'S WHY!"_

"_That is so unfair!" The girl protested._

"_OFF WITH HER HEAD!" The surrounding guards, who were dressed up as playing cards, unsheathed their axes._

"_No, no! Oh, please!"The girl pleaded, frightened._

"_Hold it right there!" Sora called out, running toward the girl and the Queen._

"_Who are you? How dare you interfere with my court?" The queen yelled._

"_Excuse me, but we know who the real culprit is." Sora said, a little less confident now._

"_Uh huh. It's the Heartl--" Goofy covered his mouth before he could finish._

"_Anyway, she's not the one you're looking for."_

_For some reason, Katy didn't like the blonde girl in the blue dress. Maybe she'd done something to her that she just wasn't seeing? _

"_Oh, so there _is_ some sort of entertainment here." A voice from behind her said._

_Whipping around, she saw a man in a black cloak standing rather close to her as he watched her figment through the window._

"_W-Who are you? How did you get here?"_

_The man shook his head._

"_Nope. Not answering questions. I'm just here to babysit you."_

_Katy opened her mouth to protest but the man shook his head again. Sighing in defeat, she turned back to the window to watch her figment. At least now she had company._

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A few rooms later, the trio found Alice hiding in the Lotus Forest.

"Things got a little crazy back there, but at least you're okay." Sora said, sounding rather pleased with himself

"I don't mean to be ungrateful, but…was that true, what you said. Are you the thief?" Alice asked, taking a few steps back.

"What? Of course not! Why would I steal the queen's memory?" Sora said, affronted

"Yep, Sora only said that 'cause he wanted to save—" Goofy began

"To show off!" Donald finished, giving the teen a glare.

"Is that right? Well, you saved me all the same. Thank you." Alice said, sincerely

There was a loud pop and a pink and purple striped cat magically appeared above them.

"It's the Cheshire Cat!" Alice exclaimed

"Feeling better after that mad dash, are we? Oh, but you're not out of the woods yet! The queen's a stickler for justice! She won't forget you till she remembers! She won't stop hounding you till you get her memory back! Did she forget because she remembers? Does she remember that she forgot? It doesn't matter, I suppose." The cat riddled, leaving their heads spinning.

"I don't know—I think we oughta just stay away from her." Sora said, liking the easy way better

"But, Sora, what about Alice? If the queen catches her again, it's off with—well, you know." Jiminy reasoned

"Then I guess we'd better do something about the queen." Sora sighed

"You should do something. But you don't have to do anything." The Cheshire Cat agreed…or disagreed? Not too sure…

"Huh?" Sora asked, more than a little confused

"If you can't remember something, it's like it never happened. Likewise, if something never happened, you can't remember it. Try too hard to remember and your memory might lie to you." The cat said as though it was common knowledge

"Lie?" Sora asked, still confused

"That's all I'll say. The rest is for you to figure out." And with that, the cat vanished.

And this, my friends, is why animals do not talk in the real world.

**

* * *

**

_**Nowhere**_

_The presence of the cloaked man was maddening. He'd obviously come from the outside world, but how? She'd walked for hours and hadn't seen any sort of entrance or exit. The only thing here was the windows, she was sure of it._

"_He's not the brightest is he?" The man asked her as he watched her figment converse with an oddly colored cat._

"_I wouldn't know." Katy answered back, coldly_

"_Aw, c'mon, don't be like that." The man whined._

_Yes, whined._

"_Oh, I'm sorry! You just appear here in the middle of what I'm pretty sure is my mind and refuse to tell me what's going on. I'm sorry if I'm a little annoyed!"_

"_Okay, okay. I see your point." The guy answered before lapsing into silence once more._

_Katy sighed_

"_Look, could you at least take off you're hood? You look like a pedophile and it's creeping me out._

_The guy shrugged and pulled down his hood._

_Studying him, Katy decided that he couldn't be more than a couple of years older than her. In fact, he was quite good looking..._

_As if he'd read her mind the older boy grinned_

_"See something you like?"_

_Katy rolled her eyes and turned away.  
_

"_So can you tell me your name now?" She asked_

_He sighed and ran a hand through his blonde hair, silently contemplating  
_

"_It's Demyx." He said finally, holding out his gloved hand with a smirk  
_

"_I'm Katy" She replied gripping his hand, which he brought to his lips._

_"Pleasure to meet you, Katy" He said, kissing her knuckles_

_Katy ripped her hand away and Demyx put his hands up in surrender._

_"I'm sorry! Didn't mean to offend you!"_

_"Just let me watch the windows." Katy said, rolling her eyes.  
_

_Demyx nodded, smirk still present as he turned his attention back to her figment. Katy sighed and followed his example, continuing to watch the events playing out on the windows._

**

* * *

**

"Let's look around! Oh, dear!" Alice suddenly exclaimed.

They were face to face with the Queen of Hearts

Shit

"Thought you'd seen the last of me, did you?" The Queen sneered

"Uh-oh…" Sora muttered

"Game's up, scoundrels! For stealing my memory, I sentence you to…I sentence you to…I…sentence…Oh? What's going on? Where am I?" The Queen asked, frantically looking around.

"Huh?!" Donald exclaimed

"What in the world am I doing? Confound it, I can't remember!" The Queen muttered to herself angrily.

"What's wrong with her?" Sora whispered to the others.

"Maybe somebody swiped her memory again?" Goofy offered

"Sora, watch out! Something's coming." Alice exclaimed, pointing to something behind him.

With that, Donald and Goofy vanished and Alice ran off somewhere leaving Sora to take down the Trickmaster by himself. Fun…not. If it wasn't at least five feet taller than him, he might not have complained, but frack! When the fight was finally over and everyone reappeared, they continued their conversation with the Queen, who was looking very much disoriented.

"You there! All of you! What is the meaning of this? Where did that creature come from?" The Queen demanded

"How would WE know?" Sora exclaimed, exasperated

"So you refuse to answer? You're hiding something! They're plotting against me! Seize them immediately!" The Queen ordered

"Please, Your Majesty, wait! It was you who commanded us to destroy those creatures." Alice interrupted, stepping in front of Sora.

Psssh, as if her tininess would protect him.

"Huh?" Sora asked confused (again.)

"Your Majesty, in her prudence, didn't completely trust us at first. And so, at Your Majesty's command, we fought them to prove our selves. Isn't that right, Sora?" Alice said, giving Sora a look that screamed for him to go along with it.

"We did? I mean, we did! Your, uh, Majesty." Sora said, stumbling over words slightly

"I…told you…to do that?" The Queen asked

"But Your Majesty, don't you remember?" Alice asked, acting as though she was perplexed tat the Queen would forget such a thing.

"Don't be ridiculous! I never forget anything! Of course I gave the command! You did splendidly." The Queen praised-yes praised them before leaving with her cards.

"Well, that was close." Alice said, sounding relieved

"Way to improvise! I never would have thought of that." Sora said, grinning cheekily at the blonde

"But the Cheshire Cat said as much. "Try too hard to remember and your memory might lie to you." The queen would never admit she forgot. So instead, she remembered something…that didn't happen. She ended up fooling herself." Alice reasoned

Sora fell silent.

Obviously, the logic of a blonde twelve year old girl who spends her time getting high on hallucinogenic mushrooms was too much for Sora to handle.

"What is it, Sora?" Alice asked

"Hm? Nothing...Well I guess you'll be safe now." Sora said, relived they could leave this crazy place.

"And the Queen won't give us any more trouble! After all, we got rid of the Heartless, just like she commanded." Goofy added

"Don't tell me you've been fooled, too!" Donald exclaimed

The trio bade Alice goodbye and entered the door that would take them back to Castle Oblivion.

**

* * *

**

As the trio made their way towards the steps that led to the fourth floor of the castle, Donald sighed.

"I hope the King is gonna be okay…"

"Why bring that up?" Sora asked

"I had to be sure that I hadn't forgotten him."

"How'd that go for ya?" Goofy inquired

"Good! I remembered…we're on a quest to find the King!"

"I remember that too! The King helped save everything by staying behind the door to darkness…I think."

"You got it, Goofy!" Donald exclaimed

"And me…I'm looking for Riku. He was with the King when the door closed. Hmm I guess there's no way we'll forget the real important memories." Sora reasoned

"That's good, 'cause I don't want to forget." Donald said as they continued to the stairs once more.

**Meanwhile…**

"You seem pretty intrigued by this Sora kid." A woman with blonde hair and scowling green eyes said to Axel as they watched Sora converse with his friends through a crystal ball.

"Are you telling me you're not, Larxene?" Axel asked

Larxene laughed

"Haven't decided yet. I think what intrigues me more is what _you_ see in him."

"There was a time he became a Heartless, and if one becomes a Heartless…" Axel trailed off

"They lose their minds and their feelings and they're consumed by the darkness." Larxene concluded

"Right, but not Sora. He held onto his feelings even as a Heartless. There's only one other man that's been able to do just that.

"It's the strength of his heart." Larxene smirked "_That's _what interests you, why the Keyblade chose Sora's heart."

"To unlock the mysteries of the heart…isn't that the Organization's mission?"

Larxene laughed mirthlessly and shook her head.

"Besides, Sora isn't _all_ that interests me…his little girlfriend does as well. Who did they send to watch her?" Axel asked.

"The Superior sent Demyx." Larxene said, rolling her eyes.

"Hmph. Let's hope he doesn't screw _this_ up." Axel muttered

"One can only hope." Larxene answered, disappearing through a dark corridor, Axel following.

**

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**

**5 reviews until the next chapter, please!**


	5. The Puppet Didn't Turn Into a Real Boy

**Authors Note: Okay, so it wasn't **_**quite**_** 5 reviews, but I wasn't gonna be mean and not update. First off, thanks to: Deadly Papegoja, soraroxas365, and CatchingForRain for reviewing. Also, thanks to Deadly Papegoja for adding BoMH to story alert. And, naturally thanks to all of you who read but didn't leave a review. Just a quick suggestion if you're looking for an interesting KH fanfic, check out SnowWolf33's story Chaos in Paradise. It's not half bad and she's looking for some feedback. I think you guys are going to like this chapter. It's my favorite so far and we finally get some answers! I also played around with the format for Katy's POV so it's a bit easier to read. The bold stuff is her memories the regular italics is present time. Hope that helps a bit. Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Kingdom Hearts. I would have been happy if they just gave me Demyx, but they said no to that too. I do own Katy though! Yay!

**

* * *

**

"Hey, I wonder it there's anything we've forgotten." Donald wondered aloud as they entered the fourth floor of Castle Oblivion.

"Hm. If we did, what would it have been?" Goofy asked.

The trio fell silent as they each wracked their brains for something they may or may not have forgotten.

"I can't think of anything, so maybe that means I really am losing my memories…but whatever they were, I guess they couldn't be very important memories…right?" Goofy asked, sounding dejected

"Right, or else I don't think you would have forgotten it." Sora said.

He reached into his pocket for the charm Kairi had given him and held it out for the others to see.

"What is it?" Donald asked

"A good luck charm Kairi gave me. I promised that I would return it. That's why I could never forget Kairi or my life on the Islands."

Closing his eyes for a moment, Sora could almost envision him returning home. He could see the misty images of Riku and Kairi and even Katy. Then there was a flash of platinum blonde and Sora whipped around in his fantasy in time to catch a glimpse of another girl dressed all in white. As quickly as she appeared, she vanished.

"Do I know…that girl?" Sora asked himself, wondering if she'd lived on Destiny Islands as well. No, that wasn't right...she was...

"Hey, Sora! Where did you go?" Donald called out, jerking Sora out of his thoughts

"Oh, sorry…never mind"

"We'd better keep going." Goofy said, walking towards the door at the end of the hall.

Sora nodded, a bit distracted as he followed his friends. As they neared the other side of the vast hallway, Jiminy hopped up onto his shoulder and asked in a low voice so only Sora could hear;

"Sora, have you been wondering about Katy lately?"

Stopping abruptly in his tracks, Sora looked over at Jiminy, alarmed.

"Why?"

"You cared a lot about her, but you haven't said anything about her since her friends came to take her back to her world."

"I still care about her. I…I don't want to talk about it." Sora snapped

Jiminy recoiled

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to make you upset."

Sora sighed and spoke in a voice so low that Jiminy had to strain to hear.

"How would you feel if someone you cared about might be dead because of you? Would you want to talk about it?"

To this, the cricket had no rebuttal and he stayed quiet as Sora unlocked the door to the next world.

**

* * *

**

_**Nowhere**_

"_So is this all there is to do in this place? Watch this guy fight stuff?" Demyx asked Katy as they sat in the center of the three windows in the middle of--for lack of better word--limbo._

"_Unfortunately, yes…if you're so bored, why don't you just leave? Nothing's stopping you." Katy said matter of factly to the blonde sitarist. _

"_Aw, c'mon. You can't say that you don't enjoy my company. Would you rather be here all alone?"_

"_Do you really want me to answer that? You might be disappointed."_

_Demyx fell silent and Katy felt the tiniest bit guilty for hurting his feelings._

"_Look, I didn't mean it to come out so harsh, but you try sitting here not knowing anything but your name while trying to remember stuff that's being broadcasted right in front of you, but doesn't look the least bit familiar."_

_Demyx sighed._

"_I guess you're right." He said fixing her with a look that could only be sympathy._

_Then he began muttering to himself. Something about her being 'just a kid' and 'what the Superior doesn't know won't hurt him.' Finally, he turned back to Katy, a small smile on his face._

"_Okay, here's the deal. I'll let you ask me three questions and I'll answer honestly, free of charge. You better thank me for this, 'cause I could get in big trouble."_

_Katy eyed him warily_

"_What's the catch?"_

"_Is that a question?" Demyx asked, laughing_

_Katy sighed and shook her head._

"_Give me a few minutes…I need to think of some good questions."_

_Laughing again, Demyx nodded and turned his attention back to the windows. Katy sighed and began to think of the three things she wanted to know the most._

**

* * *

**

The world they'd entered could be described in one word. Gross. The air was sticky and the ground and walls were moist. Every once in awhile a warm breeze would pass them that felt good but smelled rank. So where exactly were they? Three guesses my friends.

"What a weird place! Everything's kinda springy and soft." Sora said, looking around at the funny colored walls.

"Nice and warm, too. I'm startin' to feel like a nap." Goofy added, eyes drooping.

"I think you should be a little more worried." A voice warned.

"Who's there?" Donald demanded.

"You're inside the belly of Monstro the Whale." The voice continued

If you guessed Monstro, Congratulations! You get a cookie!

Jiminy jumped out of Sora's hood and onto the damp ground.

"Why, I know that voice…Pinocchio? Pinoke, it's you! Come on out!"

"Is that you, Jiminy? Gosh, I thought I'd never see you again!" Pinocchio gushed stepping out into the open.

"Gee, there's no way you wouldn't find me again. I'm your conscience." Jiminy stated proudly. "And your conscience will always be your guide. Remember?"

"Sure, Jiminy. And I've been a good boy, promise. I didn't tell a single lie."

There was a small pop and Pinocchio's nose grew longer.

"Uh-oh!" The puppet said, sheepishly

"Well, for Pete's sake!" Jiminy exclaimed

"Oops. But…how did YOU end up inside Monstro, anyway?" Pinocchio asked, curious

"We, uh, sort of used a special way…" Sora began

"It's so special; we don't know how we did it!" Goofy finished

"That's too bad…I was hoping you could help me and Father get out of here." Pinocchio said, hanging his head.

"Well, I'll be! Geppetto's here, too?" Jiminy exclaimed.

"Sure he is. Follow me!" Pinocchio said, grinning as he started down the tunnels.

**

* * *

**

_**Nowhere **_

"_Okay, first question." Katy said, bringing Demyx out of his thoughts._

"_Sure, what is it?"_

"_What is this place?"_

_Demyx frowned and ran a hand through his hair._

"_It's hard to explain…Okay. First off it's technically a world called The Nothing."_

"_The Nothing?"_

"_Yep. Pretty fitting name, wouldn't you say?"_

_Katy rolled her eyes._

"_Yeah, they hit the nail on the head. So are you going to elaborate? Or is that another question?"_

_Demyx grinned._

"_No I'll say a little more. There's only two ways to get to The Nothing. One is if you're a certain type of person, a person that serves a certain purpose. If something happens that keeps said person from fulfilling that purpose, they'll stay in The Nothing until they remember a specific memory. That memory opens a door and they'll be themselves again."_

"_What about the second way?"_

"_Is that another question?" Demyx asked, snickering. He was enjoying this a little too much._

"_No, that's not a question."_

"_You need time to think of another one?" Demyx guessed_

"_Uh-huh."_

"_Don't worry, babe. We've got loads of time."_

_Katy wrinkled her nose._

"_Don't call me babe." She said, narrowing her eyes at him._

_Demyx snickered again, but nodded and left her to think of a new question._

**

* * *

**

The trio followed Pinocchio and found themselves in a larger and even more humid room. In the center of said room was a large wooden boat.

"Geppetto!" Jiminy called to the man who was currently upon the boat.

Geppetto turned around and grinned at the sight of them.

"Bless my soul. Jiminy Cricket. How in the world did you get here?"

"You tell me! How does a clockmaker wind up in the belly of a whale?" Jiminy asked.

"Well, it's a long story…" Geppetto began, plunging into his story about his search for his son.

"So you sailed out to look for Pinocchio…" Donald started.

"And Monstro swallowed you!" Goofy finished.

"Yes, but I found my son. I would do anything for my Pinocchio." Geppetto said.

"But now you can't get out, can you?" Sora asked "Being stuck in the belly of a whale is awful."

"Not if Pinocchio and I are together. That makes everything a bit better. There's nothing better than being reunited with someone you care about."

"Yeah…I know what you mean." Sora replied, giving Geppetto a half smile.

"I don't care if I'm trapped in here, so long as I have Pinocchio. He's such a good boy."

"Well, he still tells fibs. But with a little help from me…" Jiminy cut in, still concerned for the puppets well being.

"Oh, Jiminy, you worry too much." Geppetto said to the cricket.

Realizing the absence of the subject of their discussion, Sora walked to the end of the boat and began to look around the chamber they were in.

"Speaking of Pinocchio…Where is he?"

"He was here a minute ago. Where's he gone this time?" Donald grumbled

"I expect he's exploring. That boy has been poking around just about everywhere inside this monster." Geppetto said, sounding concerned. "He won't tell me why it's so important. I tell him it's dangerous, but he won't listen."

"That boy's a handful! Sora, if you don't mind…" Jiminy asked, turning to the spiky haired teen.

"I know, I know. You want us to help you find him, right?" Sora said with a sigh.

Sometimes that puppet was more trouble than he was worth.

"C'mon, guys. Let's get going."

Donald and Goofy nodded and they all exited the chamber, save Geppetto, to look for Pinocchio.

**

* * *

**

_The Nothing _

_**Sora was flying the Gummi Ship, that fact alone was enough to make Katy feel sick. They were plummeting through deep space, when a loud noise caused Sora to stop their flight.**_

_**Katy's head smacked against the glass window pane and she groaned. She walked over to stand beside Donald and her eyes widened;**_

_**"Holy crap! Either I hit my head harder than I thought, or that's a whale."**_

_**The second the word 'whale' had been spoken, the creature opened its mouth and the Gummi Ship was being pulled into it.**_

_**"It's just me!"**_

_**"Oh, it's just Pinocchio." Donald said, uncrossing his arms.**_

_**They all stood there awkwardly.**_

_**"Pinocchio?!" Donald exclaimed.**_

_**Katy was navigating through the many chambers of the whales…insides (ew!) before she finally caught up with Pinocchio. Before she could reach him, someone grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth with their hand.**_

_**"Be. Quiet." Riku whispered, dangerously.**_

_**"What's the matter, girl? Can't handle the presence of darkness?"**_

_**Maleficent took a few more steps towards Katy, causing her to scream.**_

_The appearance of two new people in her windows made Katy bolt upright and pay attention. She _knew_ them. They were bad news. They were...she was…_

_Maleficent._

_That was her name. Maleficent. Memories flooded back to her she remembered the witch's power over her. The splitting pain in her head every time her name was mentioned._

_And the boy. She knew him too. His name was…Something with an 'R'?_

"_Riku."_

_She spoke the name aloud and Demyx looked at her sharply._

"_No…I'm Demyx, remember?"_

"_That boy's name is Riku. He's the one that found Ryan and turned him over to the Heartless."_

_Ryan. Cassie and Ryan._

_Katy turned to the other window, the one with her in the hospital, and saw the boy and the girl standing over her again._

_Their names were Cassie and Ryan._

"_See? You're remembering stuff. You might be out of here sooner than you think." Demyx said._

_His enthusiasm didn't reach his eyes, but Katy was too distracted to notice._

"_Okay, I have my next question."_

_The worried look on Demyx's face turned into a smirk._

"_Shoot."_

"_Who are all of you? The people in the black cloaks?"_

"_We're part of an Organization."_

"_An Organization that does what."_

"_We're Nobodies."_

"_What do you mean nobodies?"_

"_Were just a group of people, striving to become whole."_

"_You're being cryptic."_

"_Well, I can't really talk that much about it. It's against the rules."_

_Katy frowned. Apparently she'd just wasted a question. Turning away from Demyx, she focused her attention on the window that showed the hospital. She wanted to wake up more than anything. She was going to remember who she was and what she was meant for. She wasn't spending a second more than she had to in this hell…_

**

* * *

**

A few rooms and many Heartless later, the trio found Pinocchio in a rather bad smelling room. The reason was probably the nuclear green colored stomach acid that was boiling around them.

"Oh!" Pinocchio exclaimed as Sora and the others ran towards him.

"Pinocchio, what are you thinking?! You know Geppetto worries when you wander off by yourself." Jiminy exclaimed.

"Jiminy was worried, too." Donald added, helpfully.

"I'm sorry…" Pinocchio said sheepishly

"What are you doing, anyway? Looking for something?" Sora asked, curiously

"Um…yeah, I'm looking for the treasure!"

Pinocchio's nose grew with a pop.

"Here we go again!" Jiminy exclaimed, rolling his eyes.

"But Jiminy…" Pinocchio began.

"Now don't be so hard on the little fella, Jiminy." Goofy reasoned "We promise not to get mad, Pinocchio. Is that why you're afraid to tell? No need to fret. Tell us the truth—we'll understand. Put yur trust in Goofy!"

"…I was looking for a way out." Pinocchio said, softly. "Father says he's happy, but it's my fault we're stuck here. I shouldn't have run away from home. I want to help father get home to the workshop…but he'll worry if I tell him what I'm doing."

"So that's why you thought you had to tell a lie." Jiminy said.

"You did it 'cause you love your dad!" Goofy added

"All you need now is courage!" Donald exclaimed.

"What?" Pinocchio asked, confused.

"Tell Geppetto the truth. With a little courage, you can do it!" Donald cheered. "If you tell him how you really feel, I bet he'll help you find a way out."

"And we'll give you a hand!" Sora promised

"Really? You'll help us?" Pinocchio asked

The others nodded.

"Okay, I'll give it a try! Wish me luck, Jiminy!"

"No more keeping secrets, then. Have we got a deal?" Jiminy bargained

"Sure! I'll be brave and tell Father how I really feel. No lies this time!"

"Great! Then your nose won't--"

A bang that shook the ground rumbled through the chamber.

"What's happening?!" Sora exclaimed

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Donald said, looking around wildly

"Pinocchio, run for it!" Jiminy yelled.

The puppet didn't have to be told twice. As he ran for the exit a large Heartless fell from the ceiling, trapping Pinocchio under it.

"Pinocchio!" Sora exclaimed

"Help! I'm trapped" The puppet replied

"What?!" Sora asked

Um…he's sitting in a cage right in front of you. A CAGE. Yes, he's trapped. Thank you captain obvious.

Anyway…

Sora dove in, defeating the large, cage like, monster in a matter of minutes. However, Pinocchio still seemed to be trapped inside.

"Help me! I'm scared!" Pinocchio cried

"Pinocchio, be brave!" Sora called out.

"How?"

"Don't give up! Try fighting your way out!"

"Be brave…" Pinocchio repeated. "Okay, I'll try!"

He began to jump around in the cage, shaking it to the point where the monster couldn't take it anymore and finally disappeared.

"Pinocchio, are you alright?" Jiminy asked his friend

"Don't worry, I'm okay. Just a little sticky…But I have a great idea! That thing spit me out when I started fighting back. Why don't we try the same thing with Monstro?"

"Of course! If we're lucky, Monstro might cough us up!" Sora exclaimed.

"Great idea! Let's go deeper inside and try it!" Donald suggested.

"I'm going, too!" Pinocchio stated

"No it's too dangerous." Jiminy insisted.

This, coming from a cricket, mind you.

"Awww, c'mon…" Pinocchio whined

"You should be with Geppetto." Jiminy said, firmly. "No use escaping from Monstro if you two get separated again!

"Leave this to us." Sora said, trying to sound reassuring.

"I guess you're right. Be careful, everybody!" Pinocchio called to them as they ran off, deeper into the giant whale.

**

* * *

**

_The Nothing_

"_Ready for my last question?" Katy asked Demyx._

"_As I'll ever be." The older teen replied._

"_Okay…earlier, before you got here, I was able to sort of phase through the window with…him…in it. I haven't been able to since. How do I do it?"_

_Demyx hesitated._

_He was just supposed to be babysitting her. Watching. Observing. Not interfering. So if she was to-hypothetically-find a way through the window herself…_

"_You have to want it more than anything, more than getting out of here even. Being able to go to him has to be your biggest need. Not being able to see him has to be your greatest fear."_

_Katy nodded and stood, facing the window determinedly._

"_Wish me luck."_

_She closed her eyes, thinking only of her figment. Placing her being in the memories she'd seen…the ones where they'd been together. Slowly she stepped forward and felt an odd oozing over her skin, like whey you walk barefoot through mud. The burning whiteness of The Nothing left her eyelids and was replaced with a soothing dimness. As she left the nothing completely, she swore she heard Demyx mutter, just loud enough for her to hear;_

"_Good luck, Katy."_

**

* * *

**

Alone once again, Sora battled his way through two rooms. Coming to the third, which was a treasure room and therefore had no Heartless, Sora was about to use his last gold card to open a door when a something caught his eye.

At first he thought that it was so hot inside Monstro that the air was warping, like it did near a hot grill in the summer.

He was wrong.

The air began to take a shape, the shape of a girl. He didn't want to get his hopes up, even if it happened before, but he found himself walking towards the shimmering shape.

Sora gasped as Katy materialized before him.

"You're…you're."

Katy gave him a small smile and waved.

"Thank God you're okay!" He exclaimed, embracing her

There was something off though. It was like she wasn't all there. Like something was missing.

"I-I don't know how much time I have here." Katy stuttered, her voice small and hoarse.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"I'm not really here. I'm in a hospital, on Earth."

"You're still--"

"I'm in a coma, Sora."

Sora took a few steps back, looking like someone just kicked his puppy.

"A…coma?"

"Yeah."

"So then how are you..?"

"I don't understand everything, but I'm in this place…It's called The Nothing. I'm stuck there until I remember something important."

"What do you need to remember?"

The same feeling as last time, like the pull of a magnet came over her and Katy stumbled back.

"I don't know." She answered his question while trying to stay grounded in this world

"What's happening?" Sora asked, alarmed.

"I'm going back."

"What?!"

"Don't worry about me. I'll come back as soon as I can."

"Katy!"

The same odd light shimmered around her again and Katy seemed to melt into the very fabrics of the atmosphere.

As much as he wanted to throw something at someone, Sora knew that he had to get out of this world before he could go about pursuing answers. He needed to be able to explain this to Donald and Goofy where there weren't any outsiders.

Plus it was just to damn hot to concentrate.

Once again taking the gold card out of his pocket, Sora opened the only door in the room. He heard the usual pop as Donald and Goofy joined him and the three began to look around the small chamber.

"Looks like this is as far as we go." Goofy stated.

"Ready, then? Let's shake things up!" Sora said, trying to sound upbeat.

"It would be easier if we had someone to fight…" Donald noted

Jeez, alert the fates some more why don't you?

"Perfect timing. Looks like we've got company!" Sora said drawing the Keyblade.

After defeating the many Heartless in the room, they were all exhausted. Not to mention sweaty.

"Whew." Sora panted

The ground shook like there was an earthquake.

"A-hyuck?" Goofy exclaimed.

"It's working! Monstro's gonna sneeze!" Jiminy cheered.

The whole place shook and they were forcefully sucked out of the chamber they were in

"Oww…Now I know what getting shot out of a cannon feels like." Sora groaned.

"Where are Pinocchio and his dad?" Goofy asked.

"They're gone. Must have gotten out safely." Jiminy remarked, looking over at the place where Geppetto's ship used to be.

"Without you, Jiminy? I thought there was no escaping your conscience!" Sora teased

"I don't mind being left behind, as long as they're both safe." Jiminy stated. "Maybe Pinocchio doesn't need me after all.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked

"That little puppet used to have trouble telling him right from wrong. He's come a long way. Maybe he doesn't need Jiminy Cricket anymore. Seems like he's got a conscience of his very own."

"Don't you remember what Geppetto said? 'There's nothing better than being reunited with someone you care about.' I bet Pinocchio's counting the days till he can see you again."

Jiminy hopped on Sora's shoulder.

"Well, what do you know…You might be right."

The party exited back to Castle Oblivion, Sora thinking about his reunion with Katy. If that could happen, anything was possible.

**

* * *

**

As the trio walked towards the fifth floor of the castle, Sora's mind wandered back to the blonde girl he'd seen in his memories earlier.

"I wonder who she was." He muttered to himself. "It wasn't Kairi…but another girl? Maybe…I think her name was…"

"Sora!"

"Ahh!" The teen exclaimed, stumbling back a few steps.

"Let's go! You want to find Riku and the King, don't you?" Donald said, impatiently tapping his foot.

"Um, sure." He called back to his friends. "Man. It was right on the tip on my tongue…" he muttered to himself, racing to catch up with the others.

He thought briefly about filling Donald and Goofy about Katy, but he decided that he'd rather keep it to himself.

For now, anyway.

**

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**

_The Nothing_

_Katy groaned and opened her eyes slowly. She was so tired. Why was she so tired?_

"_Hey, she lives!" A voice said from very close to her right arm. _

"_Demyx?" Katy asked, groggily._

_Trying to pull herself into a sitting position, she winced as her whole body seemed to ache._

"_Yeah, I forgot to mention…going through the windows takes a lot out of you."_

"_Really, you don't say?" Katy bit back sarcastically, giving up trying to remain upright and simply lying down again._

"_You can go to sleep if you want. I'll wake you up if anything important happens."_

_Something nagged in the back of her mind not to trust him, but she was extremely worn out and sleep sounded like heaven right now. Fixing her gaze on Demyx's, Katy gave him her best glare._

"_You swear?"_

"_I swear."_

"_Okay then." Katy sighed._

_She closed her eyes and let herself drift away even further than she already had._

**

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**5 reviews this time please!**


	6. Jafar Didn't Grow a New Style Beard

**Authors Note****: Hey guys! I'm soooooo sorry that updates have been far, few and in-between. I have a HUGE science competition coming up and I've been spending most of my free time preparing for it. I don't ant anyone to think that I'm giving up on this series, because I'm not and I don't plan to. I'm actually having a lot of fun with it and I've been itching to write. Just a heads up though, updates will probably not come sooner that March 15****th**** after this (that's the day of the competition) so please be patient! Thanks so much to: D., Deadly Papegoja, ZuZu-Chan, CatchingForRain, SnowWolf33, m31galaxy, SpringBorn, Wormo the Green Lantern, and soraroxas365 for reviewing. Kudos also to: Deadly Papegoja, QueenoftheKill, m31galaxy, and SpringBorn for checking those wonderful boxes! Let's get back to the story, shall we?**

Disclaimer: I still don't own Kingdom Hearts. That makes me sad. I do own Katy, Cassie, and Ryan though!!

**

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Sora, Donald, and Goofy made their way to the large door on the other side of the 5th floor hallway. As the two talking animals were about to enter, Sora suddenly cried out;

"I remember! There was another girl!"

"What? A girl? Where?" Goofy asked, he and Donald looking in every possible direction.

"No, no, I mean on the islands where I used to live. Besides Kairi and Riku, there was one other girl I was friends with. The four of us played together all the time!"

"Sora…" Jiminy started. "Seems to me that's the first time you've mentioned her."

"Yeah… I guess I forgot all about her. I think…she just suddenly went away, when I was really little."

"What do you think made you remember that now?" Donald asked.

"I'm not sure." Sora answered. "It's been coming back in pieces as we go through the castle."

"Gawrsh, do you remember her name?" Goofy inquired

Sora thought for a few moments before shaking his head sadly.

"I don't remember. I feel kinda dumb. We said we wouldn't forget our friends, but now…I can't even remember her name." He said, sounding defeated.

"Sora…" Donald exclaimed, worried

"Aww, you shouldn't be worryin', none! If it's been coming back to you in pieces…you're sure to remember her name just like everything else!" Goofy said, reassuringly.

Sora nodded and managed a half smile.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

The trio continued through the fifth floor door, preparing themselves for anything.

**

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**

_**The Nothing**_

_Katy's eyes fluttered open as someone roughly shook her shoulder._

"_Whatsgoingon?" She slurred, blinking rapidly_

"_You told me to wake you up when things got important. He's about to enter another new world." Demyx answered._

_Demyx, right, she was still in this place…The Nothing. She'd only managed to leave for a few minutes, but she was gearing up to try again._

"_I'm going to go see him again…try to stay grounded longer." Katy told Demyx, who was watching the windows with a bored look._

"_Sure, whatever. It's not like there's much else for you to do." Demyx shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant. _

_Every time she went through that window, she was one step closer to remembering _it. _The thing she needed to remember to get out of here. That wouldn't be very good for the Organization…or for him._

_Katy fixed him with a hard gaze before writing off his odd behavior as restlessness. Poor guy was probably bored to death. Katy sat down next to Demyx, keeping her eyes fixed on the windows for an opportune moment to go through._

**

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**

After leaving Monstro, which had been hot enough to make Sora want to pass out from heat stroke, they entered the newest world, which just happened to be a desert of all places. Groaning from the intense heat, Sora and the others were glad that the air was at least breathable and didn't smell like a rotting corpse.

"Look, Sora! Someone's in trouble!" Goofy exclaimed.

Sora looked up to see that there was indeed someone in need of assistance. A young man, wearing a pair of ratty looking white pants and a purple vest was surrounded by a swarm of Heartless.

"We'd better do something!" Donald said, panicked.

Sora nodded and the trio ran over to the man.

"Mind if we help?" Sora asked

"Thanks! I thought I was done for!" The man replied, sounding relieved

They tried to fight off the Heartless, but it was no good.

"They just keep coming!" Donald exclaimed

"Guess we'd better see if the legends are true." The man, whose name was Aladdin, said.

He whipped out a golden lamp and held it above his head.

"Magic lamp, my first wish! Get rid of these Heartless!"

Blue smoke billowed out of the lamp and turned into a blue genie, who then began to speak.

"Stand back, kids! Genie of the lamp coming through! Ain't nothin' I can't make right as rain—well if we HAD rain in the desert." Genie teleported over to the swarm of Heartless. "Enough dry jokes! One Heartless disappearing act, coming right up!"

With that, Genie snapped his fingers and the Heartless disappeared with a pop.

"Gawrsh!" Goofy exclaimed.

"Why didn't you call him in the first place?" Donald grumbled, stamping his foot.

"It's not that simple you see--" Aladdin began;

"I couldn't have said it better myself. But I will anyway! I'm strictly limited to three wishes per master. And ixnay on the wishing for more wishes." Genie finished, disappearing with a poof.

"So you've only got two wishes left? Better use them carefully." Sora advised

"I've got to get back to the palace somehow. But with all these Heartless…

So why didn't you just wish to go there?! Then you could have ditched the Heartless AND gone where you wanted. Common sense!!!!

Anyway…

"Hey, Sora. We're headed that way too, so why don't we go with Aladdin?" Goofy suggested

Sora nodded

"Sounds like a plan."

"That would be great! Thanks a lot!" Aladdin said.

The four then began to make their way to the Palace.

**

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**

Battling many Heartless, the odd party drew nearer to the palace. As they walked, Sora thought about his meeting with Katy. She needed to remember…something. What, though? He wanted to help her, but he didn't even know where to start He was jolted out of his thoughts when Goofy broke the awkward silence.

"So, uh, why are you going to the Palace, Aladdin?"

"That no good royal vizier, Jafar. He tricked me into getting the magic lamp from the Cave of Wonders. The cave was crawling with Heartless. I'm lucky I made it back to Agrabah in one piece!"

"Wasn't there anyone else there to help you out?" Sora asked "This Jafar guy's got some nerve giving such dangerous orders."

"I know how you feel, Master." Genie spoke up. "People have been ordering me around for 10,000 years and what help do I get? I keep wishin' someone will wish me out of this gig, but go figure the odds on that."

"Well, how 'bout I use my third with to set you free?" Aladdin asked

Genie brightened.

"Doth my pointy ears deceive me? Master, you'd do that for me? You're not just pullin' my topknot now, are you?

"I promise, Genie." Aladdin said, sincerely. "Anyway there's only one thing I really want."

"Then we'll just have to DO something about that Al! Can I call you Al? So what will it be? Fame? Fortune? A heard of luxury camels to call your very own?" Genie asked

"Well, there's this girl. Her name is Jasmine. She's Princess of Agrabah. That's the problem; it's hard for a 'street rat' like me to get a chance to see her. That's how this all started. I thought if I went to the Cave of Wonders, I could get the treasure and then maybe Jasmine would want to meet me." Aladdin explained

"Sounds like your wish should be that you can see Jasmine anytime you want, huh?" Sora reasoned

"Well, I've got just the package for you! You'll not only meet the lady, you'll go in style…as PRINCE ALI! How d'ya like the sound of that, Al? Genie asked, knowingly

"Me, a Prince?! Can you really do that?"

"In an Agrabah minute!"

"I guess the legends were true after all. C'mon, let's get to the Palace!" Aladdin said, running off, thr others following.

**

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**

_**The Nothing**_

_**When they looked closer, they saw that there was actually a large heartless surrounded sinkhole that had trapped a young man and his pet monkey.**_

_**I see…Thanks, Sora." Aladdin said sincerely as they arrived at a safer stretch of desert.**_

_**"Aladdin, what are you doing out here?" Sora asked.**_

_**"Besides risking your life" Katy added.**_

_**"Same old stuff, hunting legendary treasure; I just paid a visit to the Cave of Wonders. I found that magic carpet…and this lamp. Legend has it that whoever holds the lamp can summon the--"**_

_**"Please, kid, leave the intros to a professional. The one and only GENIE OF THE LAMP!"**_

_Memories had begun to look more and more familiar. Katy was sure it had something to do with her brief trips to the outside world. Standing up, she looked over to Demyx;_

"_I'm going in."_

_The blonde nodded slowly_

"_Good luck. Be careful."_

_Katy closed her eyes, focused only on her figment and she slid through the window just like last time._

**

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**

Out of the corner of his eye, Sora saw the air shimmer. Stopping abruptly, he watched as Katy appeared before their eyes, looking slightly out of breath.

"Hey." She panted, stumbling a bit as she caught her balance.

"Katy!" Donald and Goofy cheered, running towards her.

"How did you get here?" Goofy asked, scratching his head.

"I'm not to sure myself, but I don't know how long I can stay." She said sadly, meeting Sora's eyes.

Sora joined their happy reunion, wrapping his arms around Katy in a tight embrace.

"I'm glad you're okay." He whispered.

She gave him a strained smile and whispered back;

"Don't tell the others about me yet…I don't want them to worry."

Sora nodded and after some brief introductions with Genie and Aladdin, they all continued their trek to the Palace. One comforting thing was that Katy didn't disappear when he fought the Heartless. The downside was that she wasn't able to summon her blades, so he was still fighting alone. Katy didn't mention anything about it, so Sora assumed she didn't want to talk about it. Finally, Donald, Goofy and the others reappeared as the entered the next room.

"Wak! Look at that!" Donald exclaimed

"Who is that…?" Aladdin asked, trying to get a closer look. Suddenly he exclaimed; "It's Jasmine!"

"She needs out help!" Goofy said

"We'll never make it in time!" Sora pointed out.

"Then I have no choice. Genie, I wish for you to save Jasmine." Aladdin wished

"Not a problem. CHAAAAAAAARGE!" Genie exclaimed, making the Heartless disappear.

They all ran down to where the Princess was.

"Jasmine!" Aladdin cried, leaning over the unconscious princess.

Katy walked over and knelt next to him, feeling for a pulse.

"She's okay, she just fainted." Katy said, standing back up and giving Aladdin a small smile.

"Now you've only got one wish left." Sora said

"Not again. I'm sorry, Genie but you're the only one who can…"

"No, it's you're last wish, don't waste it. This time let US do the wish granting." Sora said, drawing his Keyblade. He shot a glance at Katy, who was looking at him fearfully.

"I'll be fine, stay here."

Katy nodded and Sora ran forward to defeat the Heartless.

**

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**

"See? You didn't need Genie this time." Sora said cheerily

"You were right, but I'm still down to my last wish though." Aladdin replied

Then there was a bright flash of light.

"Wak! What's happening?"

"Oh no! The lamp! It's gone!" Aladdin exclaimed.

"Hmm, it seems my plans have gone amiss" A voice from the ledge above them said. "I was certain you'd waste your last wish…what with poor Jasmine in distress and these delightful creatures to deal with. No matter. At last the lamp and its Genie are mine to command."

They all turned around, startled. Katy gritted her teeth.

"Jafar" She sneered.

Sora glanced over at her, wondering how she knew that, but he didn't say anything.

"Why are you doing this, Jafar? You've got the lamp! What more do you want?" Aladdin demanded

"Such an interesting question. You see, I new you were going to use the lamp to try and win Jasmine's heart. We can't have that, now, can we Because I an the one Jasmine will marry!"

"You?!" Sora exclaimed

"Ew…" Katy mumbled.

"Certainly you realize that if I marry the Princess, then nothing can stop me from being the Sultan! You're nothing more than a pawn in my game, street rat. Genie! My first wish! Deliver Jasmine to me!"

Genie came out of the lamp and picked Jasmine up, shoulders slumped.

"Genie, what are you doing?!" Aladdin exclaimed

"Sorry, Al. My hands are tied on this one. I gotta obey whoever has his mitts on the lamp." Genie said, dejectedly

"Precisely. Farewell, Aladdin…you fool!"

With that Jafar exited, Genie lagging behind him.

"Great. Now I've lost Jasmine AND the lamp." Aladdin sulked

"You can feel bad about it some other time! If you don't pull yourself together, you'll never see jasmine again!" Sora said, trying to get Aladdin to focus "You lost the lamp. So what? You can still save her on your own! Losing someone you care about id bad, but not as bad as never getting them back! Sora continued, smiling at Katy who returned it.

"You're right. I can't give up now! I've gotta save Jasmine!"

"But Jafar's got the lamp!" Donald exclaimed "We can't just walk up to him and expect to win…"

"Maybe we can. I've got an idea. Listen up!

After Aladdin told them his plan, Sora, Katy, and the talking animals were to go on to the Palace without him. The reached the large gates and found Jafar standing in front of them with Jasmine at his feet

"What's this? Has Aladdin given up on his precious Jasmine already? Well, I'm not going to waste a wish on the likes of you four. I'll deal with you myself

Sora smirked and withdrew the Keyblade.

"Aladdin, now!"

"What?! Genie, seize him!" Jafar ordered.

Genie appeared in front of Aladdin with a pop.

"Al, forgive me!" He cried as he swiped at Aladdin, sending him flying back.

Katy grinned

"You fell for it, sucker!"

"What do you mean?" Jafar asked alarmed

"She means you just blew your second wish! Only one left!" Sora called over, still smirking.

"Go ahead, use it to win Jasmine's heart, you'll still have us to deal with! Aladdin said.

"Oh, NOW I get it. Al, you are so clever! Genie exclaimed

"Well, well. The cunning of a rat. Unfortunately, you can't see behind the bait. Your little ploy changes nothing! I can crush you once and for all AND make Jasmine my own! Genie! My last wish! Transform me into an all-powerful genie!"

"Shit." Katy hissed, watching as Jafar's wish was granted.

Katy panted as she hacked away at Jafar's lamp with a sword she'd stolen from a Bandit Heartless. She wasn't making much progress, but at least she was helping out. She felt uneasy at the thought of letting her figment fight alone. Finally, the battle was over and the Palace Plaza was returned to normal. Once they'd all caught their breath Donald cheered;

"We rescued jasmine AND got the lamp back!"

"You still have one wish left, Aladdin." Goofy pointed out.

"He sure does. Time for me to make a prince out of this guy! Course, I'd like to be free, but like they say, genies can't be choosers. You're probably miffed about that whole puppet=of-Jafar thing anyway." Genie babbled. "Go on, Al. Wish for what's really in your heart. Be a Prince. Get the girl."

"Okay, here goes. Genie I wish for your freedom!" Aladdin said, smiling

"But Al…!"

A light formed around Genie, freeing him from the confines of the lamp.

"Now no one like Jafar can use you for evil again. Genie, you're free!" Aladdin said.

"Al, I'll never forget this. What about Jasmine? What are you gonna do?" Genie asked

"I was wrong, Genie. If I used your help to win Jasmine…I'd be no better than Jafar. Jasmine means the world to me. I want to show her the real me." Aladdin replied.

"Good for you." Katy said, smiling a little

"Thanks, and good luck to you, too." Aladdin said to Sora

"What for?" Sora asked, confused

"I was ready to give up back there, but what you said really kept me going. That's when it hit me. You must be looking for someone you care about, too."

"Yeah…" Sora replied, looking at his feet.

"Listen Genie…" Aladdin started

"Say no more little pal! I know JUST what you're thinking. Here you go, kid!" Genie said, handing Sora a card. "Whenever you need me, just call. That okay with you, Al?"

"Of course!" Aladdin replied

"Are you sure?" Sora asked Genie apprehensively

"Anytime at all." Genie answered "Without you guys, I might have never been able to ditch that lamp!"

"Thanks!" Sora said, gratefully

Aladdin and Genie both left and Sora continued on to the Conqueror's Respite. As soon as Donald and Goofy disappeared, Katy collapsed to the ground.

"What's the matter?!" Sora asked, alarmed

"I think really tired…" Katy wheezed, her body beginning to shimmer.

"You're going back, aren't you?"

"I think so."

Sora sighed and before Katy knew what was happening, he kissed her on the lips, hard.

"What?" She asked after he pulled back, a little dazed.

Sora frowned.

"You don't remember…" Realization crossed his face. "Katy…What's my name?"

Before she could tell him she didn't know, she was pulled back into The Nothing with a force so large that she swore her skin was going to be ripped from her bones. She hit the floor, only barely registering that Demyx was there and looking down at her with concern. Then she passed out.

**

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**

"Sora, is there anything else you remember about that other girl?" Donald inquired as they returned to Castle Oblivion.

"Hmm…just bits and pieces." Sora said, a little distracted

Truthfully, the other girl, whoever she was, was far from his mind right now.

"Maybe you could try telling us some more stuff about her. Who knows? It might even help you remember a few more things."

"Well, uh…" Sora began, wracking his brain. "She was quiet…and always drawing. When we'd go to the beach, she'd draw a picture instead of swimming. Sometimes she'd draw us, too! She was really good. I remember Riku and I fighting over who she'd draw next. But, one day, she was gone…just like that. I think the grown-ups knew the reason. They might even have tried to explain some of it to me. But, I was little. I probably didn't understand what was happening. I remember…crying after she was gone. But that's all…I still don't remember her name."

"Oh, I bet you'll remember it in no time!" Donald said, trying to cheer him up.

"I must point out that Sora keeps remembering things instead of forgetting them." Jiminy said, hopping up on Sora's shoulder. "It seems to me that forgetting things may be the only way to reach the memories deeper don inside each of us."

"So we should forget in order to remember?" Goofy asked, confused

"Like those guys said: "Our most precious memories lie so deep in our hearts that they're out of reach." All that stuff about finding being losing and losing being finding…I didn't get it at first, but maybe this is what they meant."

"Gawrsh, Sora. I think I'm a little jealous of ya. How come me, Donald, and Jiminy aren't rememberin' more of the stuff from our memories?"

"C'mon, Goofy! Let's get going. We've got to forget things faster.

As they made their way to the next floor, Sora realized that no one had asked him where Katy had went. He was grateful, he really didn't want to talk about it.

He was quite possibly in love with a girl who was fighting off death and couldn't remember his name.

He hoped that wherever this "Nothing" place was, that it was safe. That Katy was safe.

**

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_**The Nothing**_

"_It's his name." Katy gasped out during a brief moment of consciousness _

_Demyx looked over at her, sharply_

"_What did you say?"_

"_The thing I have to remember to leave here. It's that boy's name…the look on his face when he realized…I can't believe I can't remember." Katy babbled to herself._

_Demyx sighed_

"_Hey, try to get some rest, babe. You don't look so good and now you're talking to yourself"_

_Katy nodded, not even hearing the babe comment._

_As she closed her eyes and fell into oblivion once more, tears slid down her cheeks._

_She wanted to go home._

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**5 Reviews Please!!!!!**


	7. Jack Didn't Improve His Grand Entrance

**Authors Note:**** I'm baaaack! Now that my stress level isn't sky rocketing (don't EVER enter a science comp!) I'm going to seriously start getting into this story. I'm gonna try to get another chapter out this week and two the week after. Spring break is coming up, so I'll have more time. Thanks SO much to: SpringBorn, keywieldinglegend, soraroxas365, D M Ash, Papegoja, CatchingForRain, Wormo the Green Lantern, ****psychicshipping and ****Cereah**** for reviewing and to: Chinesebaby14, ****keywieldinglegend, D M Ash, ****psychicshipping, and ****Cereah**** for checking those wonderful boxes. Happy reading!!!!**

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. I only own Katy.

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As Sora and the gang made their way to the sixth floor of Castle Oblivion, they were unaware of the two Organization members that were watching them.

"Just as we intended." Larxene drawled.

"We'll stick to the plan. Let's see how far this group will go." Axel said, preparing to open a dark corridor. Larxene stopped him.

"You had your fun on the first floor. So this time, it's my turn."

Axel wordlessly tossed her a set of cards and Larxene giggled humorlessly, striding towards the red headed man and running her gloved hand over his jaw.

"I'm not going to just give it to him." She said, smirking

"Don't break him." Axel mumbled.

"Well…Do I detect a soft spot? I'm not going to break the toy. I'm not dumb." Larxene said a bit defensively.

"Don't forget, Sora is the key. We need him if we're going to take over the Organization…"

Larxene put a finger to his lips.

"I know you're in on it too, but keep it under your hood…at least until the time is right." She purred, giving Axel a wave as she disappeared into a dark corridor.

Once she was gone, Axel chuckled to himself.

"You would have been wise to have done the same, Larxene."

**Meanwhile…**

"So, Sora, did anything back there help you remember your friends name?" Goofy asked the spiky haired teen.

"Uhhh…Her name is the only thing I can't seem to remember." He answered.

"You gotta try! Hurry up and remember it!" Donald said, impatiently."

Sora just shook his head and took out the final world card he had and used it to open the door.

**

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**

_**The Nothing**_

_Katy moaned as she came to, sitting up slowly so she would only cause herself minimum pain._

"_I don't think I'll be trying that again for awhile." She muttered wincing at the brightness of the world she was stuck in._

"_Yeah, you don't look like you're in the best shape to be phasing through worlds." Demyx said, giving her a once over to make sure there wasn't any serious damage._

_Katy pulled her knees to her chest and put her head down on top of them._

"_I need to remember his name… she whispered, her voice distressed_

_Demyx didn't know how to comfort her. He was supposed to be keeping her in The Nothing as long as possible, but so far, all he'd done was help her._

"_Just watch your memories for a little while, maybe it will come to you._

_Katy nodded, glumly and watched as her figment entered a new world._

**

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**

"Gawrsh! Don't like the looks of this place. I bet it's crawlin' with ghosts!" Goofy said, looking around Halloween town nervously.

"Aw, phooey! There's nothing to worry about." Donald insisted. "You won't be spooked if you already know what's coming! Not even real ghosts can scare us anymore! If they take one look at us, THEY'D be the ones to run away. "

"Ya really think so?" Goofy asked?

"Trust me!" Donald said as we walked towards a fountain filled with a green substance.

Suddenly, a skeleton clothed all in black jumped out of the fountain and exclaimed "Welcome to Halloween Town!"

"Waaak! A ghost!" Donald yelled, falling backwards.

"Wow, that was the best shriek I've heard in ages! If you're THAT easy to scare, we're gonna have a great time! Sorry, I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Jack Skellington! And this is Halloween Town. People around here call me the Pumpkin King! So if you're looking for a ghoulishly good time, you've come to the right place." Jack said all in one breath.

"Well, we aren't!" Donald hollered, a bit miffed.

"Too bad, because at the moment, we've got a bit of a problem in Halloween Town."

"What kind of problem?" Sora asked

"Well…"

At that moment, the square was filled with Heartless.

"Like this!" Jack said, looking around warily.

They took care of the Heartless quickly. After they caught their breath, Donald rounded on Jack;

"What's the big idea?! Why'd you go and call the Heartless?!"

"I didn't call them. I just knew when they were going to show up. In fact, I'd love to get rid of them. They actually go around attacking people instead of just scaring them." Jack said, matter-of-factly.

"Why are they here?" Sora asked.

"I was just going to ask Dr. Finkelstein the same question. I'm heading to his laboratory right now. Follow me!"

They looked at each other and shrugged before taking off after Jack.

**

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**

_**The Nothing**_

_**The Heartless had lined up in front of a large well filled with a green…substance and parted away from it in a flourish to reveal a tall skinny skeleton man, a.k.a. Jack Skellington. He rose from the substance in what was obviously supposed to be a grand entrance.**_

_Katy frowned. She remembered this…at least bits and pieces of it. There was the creepy ghost Heartless, the creepier lab, the weird ragdoll looking girl, and lots and lots of heights. She hated heights. There was something else too, but whenever she tried to bring it to the surface, she'd get that annoying pain in her chest and her cheeks would warm up in a blush. Although she couldn't remember what was desperately trying to get out of her subconscious, she knew it was important._

**

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**

Sora and the others made it to Dr. Finklestein's lab in one piece, which was an accomplishment considering all of the Heartless that were roaming around.

"Allow me to introduce Dr. Finklestein!" Jack said with a grin. "He's a world-famous genius!"

"Yes! Maybe I'm TOO smart. I'm afraid I've created something horrible!" Finklestein announced.

Although he didn't seem too beat up about it…

"What's that?" Donald asked, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Well, have you ever stopped to think about the power of "true memories"?" The Dr. inquired

"True memories?!" Sora exclaimed

"You see my boy, our hearts are full of memories—but not all of them reflect the truth. The heart isn't a recording device. Even important memories change with time. They warp and fade leaving us with but a shadow of what we hoped to remember."

"Could that be happening to me?!" Sora asked, alarmed

"It happens to everyone. Some memories grow ugly and some become more beautiful. If we could recover our true memories, the world would seem completely different. So, I devised a potion from forget-me-nots that brings our true memories back."

"Did it work?"

"Well that's the problem…"

"As soon as the doctor got a whiff of the potion, Heartless started popping up!" Jack cut in.

"Sounds like a failed experiment to me." Donald huffed.

"No! My research is flawless! I just need another look at the potion to see what went wrong!" Finkle stein insisted.

He rolled his wheelchair over to an empty desk.

"Unfortunately…it's vanished."

"Maybe someone swiped it?" Sora suggested.

"It must've been Sally! Jack you've got to find her and get my potion back!" The doctor begged.

"Leave it to me!" Jack reassured him.

"Can we tag along?" Sora asked. "I want to learn more about these "true memories" the doctor keeps talking about.

Oh, sure. Give us game players more work. *sigh*

"Excellent! Then let's go find Sally!" Jack said

The others followed him as he left the lab. Sora constantly looked over his shoulder, looking for a patch of shimmering air to announce Katy's arrival. He had about a million questions for her, starting with how she could have forgotten his name…even though he couldn't remember the name of the blonde girl from the Islands. Sighing to himself, Sora jogged into the next room, the others vanishing as he prepared to fight more Heartless

**

* * *

**

A few bumps and bruises and many Heartless later, The party finally caught up with Sally at Moonlight Hill.

"There you are, Sally! I thought I'd find you here!"

Sally turned towards Jack's voice and eyed Sora Donald and Goofy warily

"Who are your friends?"

"They're interested in true memories. You have the potion don't you?" Jack asked, smugly

"Well…Yes." Sally admitted, pulling it out from the pocket of her dress.

"Could you give it back?"

"I guess so. If you insist. But…I'm afraid. All the doctor did was smell it and Heartless appeared. What if someone drinks it?"

"Are you kidding? What could be more exciting?"

"I'm worried, Jack. Isn't there another option?"

"Any ideas, Jack?" Sora asked

"I can't think of a thing." The skeleton replied.

"I can! Give it here!" A voice echoed around them

A giant potato sack fell from the sky and knocked Sally aside, grabbing the potion.

"Oh, no! The potion!" Sally cried.

"Oogie! You again!"

"Jack, where are your manners?" The potato sack, whose name was Oogie Boogie patronized. "I'm just helping you put the potion to good use. You should thank me! Well, well. Just one sniff and the Heartless appeared. What would happen if I chugged the whole thing? THAT would be scary! Poor Jack! You can't hold a candle to Oogie Boogie. Time for Halloween town to taste pain and despair beyond any nightmare!"

"Pain and despair? Oogie, you monster!"

Oogie boogie grinned and ran off towards his mansion.

"C'mon, Jack! We've got to go after him!" Sora exclaimed.

Jack nodded and they took off after him.

**

* * *

**

_**The Nothing**_

_**Zero, have you seen Sally anywhere?"**_

_**The dog flew around another gravestone and a girl that looked like a scary version of a rag doll stepped out from behind it.**_

_**"Is something wrong, Jack?"**_

_**Oogie Boogie was nothing more than a giant potato sack…at least on the outside. Ever seen a potato sack laugh? It's a pretty disturbing sight.**_

_Oogie Boogie. She remembered him with his disturbing laugh, creepy bugs and mansion-in-the-sky. Shivering, a sense of forbidding came over Katy. Her figment would have to fight him soon. She didn't want him to do it alone. Her mind was screaming for her to go to him, but she was too weak to even sit up straight for more than ten minutes at a time._

"_You okay?" Demyx asked her, concerned._

"_Smashing." Katy replied with a groan, collapsing backwards._

_There was an awkward silence before Katy rolled onto her stomach and gave Demyx her best 'don't screw with me" glare._

"_Do you know his name?"_

_Demyx looked shocked for a moment and then became very interested in the frayed sleeves of his cloak._

"_No?" He answered, the reply sounding more like a question._

"_You're lying." Katy stated, looking away from him._

"_Katy…"_

"_No. Either tell me what his name is or don't talk to me."_

"_I can't! You don't understand! I--"_

"_DON"T talk to me." Katy said more forcefully._

_Demyx sighed and nodded as Katy put her head in her hands_

"_This must be what ht feels like to go crazy." She whispered too low for Demyx to hear._

_He figment better be okay after taking down Oogie Boogie. If not, Demyx was going to get a punch in the face._

**

* * *

**

"Oogie! Hand over the potion!" Jack demanded as they busted into the potato sack's lair.

Oogie Boogie tuned around and smirked at them

"You fools don't know when t quit! Say…all this running around is making me thirsty."

"Oogie, no!" Jack exclaimed

"Yes!"

On that happy note, he drank the whole bottle in one sip.

Wait…can potato sacks even DRINK? Hmmm…

"Oh, no." Sora moaned

"Ahh! Lip smacking good!" Oogie's grin faltered "Aaghh! What's this?"

He began to squirm and his face was scrunched in discomfort.

"What…something's wrong! Something deep inside of me. Something …scary!"

"Oogie! What's going on?" Jack shouted, alarmed

"No! Get back! Stay away from me!

Ignoring his protesting, Sora ran forward, the others disappearing and took care of Oogie Boogie before he could cause any more damage.

When the sad excuse for a fight was over, the party made their way back to Dr. Finklestein's lab.

"Confound that Oogie Boogie!" The doctor cried "He drank nearly all of my precious potion! There are only a few drops left!"

"Sora, why don't you ask the doc if you can drink the rest?" Goofy whispered to the teen.

"No. I'd better not."

"What, don't you want it? Too bad. It would have been a great experiment."

"Now, Doctor…" Sally said, reproachfully

"Don't you want to find out about your true memories?" Jack asked.

"Of course—now more than ever. But there's this guy—Axel. I promised him I'd find out the truth on my own." Sora answered

"I just don't understand. When I inhaled the potion, Heartless appeared--…and when Oogie drank it, he was overcome with fear. What could that mean?" The doctor asked himself.

"It means the potion was a failure" Sally said firmly

"No! I can't be wrong! Oogie MUST have found his true memories. Hmm…true memories must unbalance the heart--…and cause unpredictable changes within!"

"Then…what about me? What happens when my true memories awaken?" Sora asked

"Perhaps something even more terrifying…But this is all just a hypothesis. I can't be sure without future research." The doctor said, rolling away to go study his notes on the subject.

"What's wrong, Sora? Does the doctor's theory frighten you?" Jack asked

"Well. Yeah—a little" Sora answered

"That's good to hear! Fear and doubt are signs of a strong heart. They push your heart, strike out in new directions, take chances! Without them, your zest for life might fade…as would your taste for fear. And believe me, that would really ruin my fun." Jack explained

"Thanks, Jack. I'll remember that." Gore said, sincerely

"Then good luck, gentlemen! May you always enjoy being frightened!

They said their final goodbyes and exited back to Castle Oblivion.

**

* * *

**

The door closed behind them as they entered and the party was faced with a blonde girl in a black cloak smirking evilly at them.

"I bet you work with Axel!" Donald exclaimed

"Too clever. I'm Larxene. So…are you enjoying your stay at the castle? I bet it's nice to peel away all the worthless memories and awaken the true memories…that lie deep in your heart. Although…it seems you're still forgetting the most important thing here. When that poor girl hears that you've forgotten her name, why…it'll just…it'll break her heart."

"Poor girl? Do you know her?!" Sora demanded, glaring at the blonde

Larxene just giggled

"Is she…here?" Sora asked in a softer tone, talking more to himself than anyone else.

"Yes, she is. You see the bad guys are holding her captive somewhere deep inside the castle…and you obviously are the hero, so you have to go save her. Although…"

Larxene charged forward, ramming Sora backwards and kicking him in the stomach, Kairi's lucky charm flying out of his pocket as he fell.

"I'M a bad guy, so you have to go through me."

"Sora!" Donald and Goofy exclaimed.

Sora looked at the charm lying on the floor.

"What is that thing? Is that…mine?" He asked, unsure

"What a shame…you've been wearing it all this time and you forgot?" Larxene mocked "No…that's not possible. The memory has to be engraved deep inside your heart. Sora, you think carefully now. What oh what could it be? And who gave it to you?

"Na…Na…mi…"

"Sora…Sora…You're getting it now! Release the memory from within your heart!"

"Nami…" "Sora looked up with realization "Naminé."

"Well, it's about time. That's right…Naminé. Yes, she's the one who gave you that tacky little good luck charm. Not that you even bothered to remember… No surprise, seeing as you also couldn't remember her NAME. Talk about heartless! I can't believe you!" Larxene exclaimed, picking the charm up from off the floor and holding it between her fingers. "It'd serve you right if I decided…to smash this piece of junk!" The blonde squealed, making to throw the charm on the floor.

"Let it go!" Sora yelled, smacking it out of her hand with the Keyblade. "Naminé gave me this. It's very important to me!"

After she made sure she had all her fingers, Larxene fixed him with a glare.

"Oh, it's important to you?" Her body began to crackle with lightning and two claw-like blades appeared on her knuckles. "Ten seconds ago, you didn't even know what it was!" She shrieked, running at him.

This time though, Sora was ready for it. Larxene was annoyingly good at fighting. She was as quick as, well, lightning. She slashed at him everywhere, leaving his clothes torn and several bleeding lines on his torso. Finally, he delivered the final blow and she sank to the ground.

"Hmph, you're not as bad as I thought. You really are a hero…a heartless hero." She said, smirking

"Who asked you?" Sora said through clenched teeth.

"Oh, does it hurt because it's the truth? You are just a baby. And if you're gonna be a baby, then here you go." Larxene said, flicking a set of cards at him. "I created another card from your memories, you know. Be a good boy and say "thanks". Ta-ta." She said with a wave, disappearing into a dark corridor.

"Wait, Larxene!" Sora yelled as she vanished. He swung his Keyblade at the air around him. "Don't you dare hide from me! Come on! Show yourself!"

"Sora, calm down! She's not coming back!" Jiminy Cricket said as he hung onto Sora's hood for dear life.

"Sora?" Goofy asked, tentatively walking towards the angered teen.

"I hate this…why I'd need someone like her to bring back…Naminé's memory."

The others started walking to the door in front of them, but Sora hesitated.

"I wish Katy was here…" He whispered to himself, clenching his hands into fists.

Meanwhile…Katy was having a nervous breakdown of her own.

**

* * *

**

_**The Nothing**_

_Sora took down Oogie Boogie without a problem. No, the problem was with the girl in the black cloak._

"_Who's she?" Katy asked Demyx, noting the similar clothing_

"_Larxene." Demyx winced_

_Even though she couldn't hear anything, she knew Larxene was tormenting him. Not with a weapon, but with words. Then she ran at him, kicking him in the gut. Katy grabbed onto Demyx's shoulder._

"_Do something! Stop her!"_

"_I can't…"_

"_Why the hell not?!"_

"_It's against the rules…I can't."_

_Katy wanted to smack him. She tried one last desperate attempt._

"_Fine, then I'll stop her. Tell me his name."_

"_No."_

"_Demyx!"_

"_NO!"_

_Katy watched helplessly as the two began to fight. Larxene landed a rather nasty gash to Sora's abdomen._

"_Demyx, please! I need to help him. Please!" She cried, tears welling up in her green eyes"_

"_I...I…" Demyx stuttered, wincing as Larxene got another hit in._

"_GO DAMMIT DEMYX!"_

"_HIS NAME IS SORA!"_

_Katy took a few steps back, her whole body suddenly going rigid._

"_Sora?" She whispered._

_Then it all came flooding back:_

_**Thanks. My name's Katy by the way. Katy Tannith." She held out her hand and Sora shook it.**_

_**"You said you're name was Sora?"**_

_**"Yep."**_

_**"That's funny. I had a dream last night and someone was telling me that I had to find Sora."**_

_**"Well, you found me!" He said grinning.**_

_*******_

_**Katy stood frozen, watching as the bullet seemed to come at her in slow motion. It all happened so fast. One second her life was flashing in front of her eyes and the next she was on the ground with Sora on top of her. She blinked confusedly before grinning.**_

_**"We have to stop falling like this. People are gonna start talking."**_

_**Sora blushed and stood, pulling her up with him.**_

_**"Yeah, well…I didn't see you moving out of the way."**_

_**"Yeah, Thanks for that. I was kind of stuck…" Katy trailed off looking at the ground, silently contemplating.**_

_**Then she looked up and kissed him lightly on the cheek.**_

_*******_

_**Does he like you?"**_

_**"What is this, twenty questions?"**_

_**"You didn't answer." Ariel sang, swimming in a circle almost mockingly.**_

_**"NO! I mean, I don't think so."**_

_**"I do. The way he looks at you sometimes, I wish someone would look at**__**me**__**like that."**_

_*******_

_**Sora!" She called out, running to catch up to him.**_

_**He turned around and cocked an eyebrow at her, but didn't have a chance to say anything before she threw her arms around him and pressed her lips firmly against his. Sora's eyes widened, but he made no effort to pull away; in fact, he kissed her again and again and again until up was down and down was up. Finally they pulled away, both of them blushing slightly.**_

_**"I wanted to do that for a really long time." Sora confessed, looking away.**_

_**Katy laughed.**_

_**"Me too."**_

_*******_

_The world spun as she recalled these moments and she swore she heard Demyx wishing her luck as it felt like her body was being sucked through a tube a million times too small._

The whiteness faded around her and Katyana Tannith bolted upright in her hospital bed screaming bloody murder;

"SORA!"

**

* * *

**

**A/N: I hope that made up for the lack of updates! I'm shooting to have the next one up by Sunday, Monday night the latest. Review till then please? So I know you're still with me?**


	8. Riku Didn't Lose the Skirt

**Authors Note****: Okay, I'm going back to my normal Sunday updates. They seem to work better for me. Since I'm on break though, I'll try to get as many chapters out as I can. I'm changing things up a bit; the majority of the next few chapters are going to be entirely about Katy. I'm only going to be including the entrance and exit cutscenes, so we won't be seeing a lot of Sora. With that said, thanks to: Cereah, soraroxas365, SpringBorn, SweetSoul3155, D M Ash, Wormo the Green Lantern, Deadly Papegoja, CatchingForRain, psychicshipping, kingdomheartsgirl132, and M31Galaxy for reviewing. Also thanks to: Amy-chan123, Cereah, Sweetsoul3155, Kingdomheartsgirl132, and M31Galaxy for checking those wonderful boxes. One last thing, I really don't appreciate being harassed about my updating. I really do try my hardest to update on time, but I do actually live a life outside of FanFiction (as hard as it is to believe). And frankly, telling me not to enroll in extracurricular activities or consider being homeschooled in order to help me update quicker is NOT helping the cause (you know who you are). As I've said before, I have no intentions of abandoning this story so please be patient. On that happy note, Enjoy!!!**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Kingdom Hearts. I just own Katy, Ryan, and Cassie

**

* * *

**

"Whew…Throwing that battle wore me out." Larxene said dramatically as she rejoined Axel in their makeshift observation room.

"Really? It looked to me like you just plain lost." Axel replied coldly

"How dare you! You don't appreciate the nuances of--"

"An admirable effort." An accented voice interrupted

"Vexen?" Larxene questioned, sounding put off

"How could you be humbled by someone of such limited significance? You shame the Organization." The scientist scolded the blonde nymph who growled deep in her throat.

"How can we help you, Vexen? It's not very often we see you topside." Axel said politely, but with the same put off tone as his companion.

"I came to lend you a hand. You obviously believe this Sora has much potential, but I remain unconvinced he is truly worth such coddling. I think an experiment would show if he really is of any value to us." Vexen explained.

"Hmph. Well, here we go again. It's just an excuse so you can carry out your little experiments. That's all." Larxene drawled with an eye roll

"I'm a scientist. Experiments are what I do, yes." Vexen defended himself, voice gone flat.

"Whatever. You can do what you want. But you know, I think testing Sora is just a little cover for testing your valet." Axel said dismissively.

"Valet? He's the product of pure research." Vexen replied, trying to sound confused

"What he actually is, is a toy." Larxene mumbled

Vexen heard her and fixed her with a cold glare.

"Hmph, you should just learn to be quiet." He sniffed, looking away from the sadistic blonde

"Anyway…since you came all this way, you're gonna need this." Axel said in a flat voice, tossing Vexen a card with a picture of Destiny Islands on it. "A humble gift to my elder, I hope you use it to put on a very good show for us."

Vexen smirked at the red-haired man, but it faltered when they heard the sound of footsteps. The three turned their attention to the southern exit and were faced with a familiar figure wearing what looked like a long grass hula skirt.

**Meanwhile…**

"Sora! Not so fast!" Donald protested, trying to keep up with the spiky haired teen."

"We don't have time! They've got Naminé! We've gotta rescue her!" Sora called over his shoulder, still running at full speed to the door on the other side of the room.

"Phew, Sora sure does seem like he's upset." Goofy commented

"You'd be too. He just remembered a friend but found out she's in trouble!" Donald replied, eyeing Sora nervously as he waved frantically for them to hurry up.

"Good point. I guess if we heard that the king was in danger, we would be pretty upset about that too." Goofy agreed, also shooting Sora a wary glance before joining him by the large door.

**

* * *

**

"SORA!" Katy shrieked as her eyes darted around frantically in their sockets, trying to process where she was.

The room was dark, save for the sliver of light that was coming from the crack under the door. Oblong shadows were cast on the pale, while walls giving Katy more reasons to scream as they seemed to take the shapes of various Heartless and cloaked figures. After what seemed like an eternity, two nurses rushed into the room, snapping on the lights and rushing over to the shrieking teen.

"It's alright, dear. You're safe, noting to worry about. Can you tell me where you are?"

Now that the lights were on and she could actually see three inches in front of her face, Katy recognized the hospital room she'd seen many times from her window in The Nothing.

"I-I'm in the hospital." She stuttered, trying to calm her erratic breathing.

"Good. Do you remember why you're here?"

Jeez, did she ever…

_Sora didn't see Ansem raise the sword, in a last attempt to end him. Katy did. She screamed, flew at him at high speed and pushed him out of the way. The blade connected with her chest. Everyone fell silent._

_There was no burst of lights like there was when Sora had sacrificed himself to save Kairi, there was just blood._

_So much blood._

"I got stabbed through the chest."

The nurse nodded and began to check the many machines hooked up to Katy, going on about how lucky she was.

Katy didn't know it, but she was somewhat of a legend on Earth nowadays. She'd been to other worlds and helped stop the invasion of the 'shadow creatures'. She'd turned up half dead and slipped into a coma that no one expected her to wake up from, but she had.

Apparently someone in the universe was a fan of her.

Katy wasn't worried about any of that though, she was more focused on how she was getting out of here. She had to get to Sora. There was no time for them to give her zillions of tests and the medical version of the Spanish Inquisition, she had to leave ASAP.

"Can you call my friends for me? Cassie Halliday and Ryan Delagar? I'd really like to see them." Katy asked the nurse in her most saccharine voice, widening her eyes slightly.

The damsel in distress ploy worked perfectly and the nurse hurried out of the room to call her friends.

Less than a half hour later, Ryan and Cassie rushed into her room, Cassie squealing in happiness and practically tackling her down to the bed in a hug.

"I _knew_ you'd wake up! They said you hade no chance, but I _knew_ it!!" Cassie gushed, squeezing the life out of her friend.

"Cass, (gasp) can't (wheeze) breathe!" Katy protested, trying to pry the black-haired girl off her before she had broken ribs to add to her list of injuries…and before she actually _did_ die of suffocation.

Cassie released her from her death grip and Katy broke out into a fit of coughs, waving away her friends profuse apologies.

"Glad to see you among the living, Kate." Ryan said, his trademark crooked grin smiling at her.

Katy's eyes widened and she did her best to hold back tears.

"Ryan. You're back and…normal." Katy stated, wrapping her arms around him.

"Yeah. All thanks to you."

They both pulled back, and Katy stared at him in confusion.

"You were there…when I got stabbed. How?"

Ryan sighed.

"It's a long story."

"A long, but incredible story." Cassie added, sitting on the edge of Katy's bed.

"What happened to you Ry? After you saved me from the Heartless in your house?"

Ryan sighed and plunged into his epic tale.

**

* * *

**

**Neverland, Mainland**

Ryan groaned and opened his eyes. His head was killing him and he hurt in places he didn't know he had. As he attempted to push himself up into a sitting position, he felt the ground give slightly under his hands. Sand. He was on a beach…somewhere. Praying that he was still in Maine, he slowly opened his eyes. Crystal clear, turquoise water gleamed in the sun. The sand beneath him was pure white and sparkled as though it was laced with powdered diamonds. Behind him there was a vast jungle, the vegetation thick and forbidding. Ryan concluded that he was no longer in Maine, despite his wishes and got up off the beach, dusting the sand from him as he walked the shoreline and began to look for signs of life. After about an hour of walking down the beach, he heard an odd noise from beyond the tree line. It was probably _supposed _to sound like a bird, but whoever was making the noise probably wasn't the best at it. Groaning to himself, Ryan made his way into the last place he wanted to go…the jungle.

Upon entering the endless expanse of green, he felt like he was being watched. After about ten minutes of looking behind him every five seconds he stopped walking and rolled his eyes.

"I know you're there."

Six young boys, all dressed up like different animals emerged slowly from the vegetation, each looking at him curiously.

"Who are you?" The one dressed like a rabbit asked

"My name's Ryan."

"Oh…we're the lost boys!" The kid replied excitedly

Ryan nodded, trying to pretend this wasn't weird.

"Where are we?" He asked, looking around, cautiously in case there were more people dressed up as woodland creatures.

"We're in Neverland!"

"Neverland?"

"Yep!"

"Listen, have you seen a girl around here? Purple hair, green eyes, bad attitude?" Ryan asked, smirking to himself at the last bit.

"Nope!"

After a few more questions and many one word answers, the lost boys decided that he wasn't threat and decided to let him live in the jungle.

"We can't let Peter find out, though." One of the kids warned. "He might not like it."

So Ryan stayed in Neverland, safe and sound while Katy risked her life all over the universe. Ryan didn't know exactly _how_ he knew that…he was guessing it had something to do with his dreams. It was like watching a movie almost every time he fell asleep…sometimes he could even talk to her. He hoped that Sora kid was looking out for her, because otherwise he was going to hear it from him…if he ever found them that is…

So everything was peaceful, for the most part…until the pirates came.

Ryan was walking the beach, something he did a lot since it reminded him of home, when he heard voices coming from the jungle. Before he could hide, a boy about his age with silver hair and blue-green eyes stormed out of the trees, looking pretty pissed. They locked eyes and the kid looked confused for a few seconds before he jogged over to him.

"Hey, have you seen a girl around here? Wendy, I think her name is? Brown hair, blue dress, weird accent?"

"No, sorry." Ryan answered, looking at the taller teen quizzically. "How'd you get here?"

"A ship."

"No kidding?"

"Yeah…it's down the beach a little more. How'd _you_ get here?"

"Dunno. One minute I was stopping those flesh eating, shadow, _things_ from attacking my friend, and the next minute I was here."

The kid nodded and stuck out his hand.

"I'm Riku."

"Ryan."

A flash of recognition passed over Riku's face.

"Ryan…Delagar?"

"Yeah…you know me?" Ryan asked

Riku walked over to the edge of the shoreline, looking out into the ocean.

"The friend that you saved. Is her name Katy?"

Ryan's eyes widened.

"Yeah! You've seen her?!"

"Yeah, I met up with her a couple of days ago. She's traveling with a…friend of mine."

"That Sora guy?"

Riku looked back at him

"You know him?"

"Kind of. I have these…dreams sometimes and I can see the both of them."

"Have you seen them recently?"

"No…not since this desert place they were at."

Riku nodded and regarded him thoughtfully.

"If you want, you can come with us…on the ship. We can try and find them again."

"Really?" Ryan asked, a bit skeptical

"Yeah, sure." Riku shrugged. "Come on. It's this way."

The two teen walked in silence until they reached the pirate ship. Riku motioned for Ryan to follow him below deck.

"So, when you saw her, Katy I mean, she was okay, right?"

"Yeah she was fine." Riku said, opening a door and letting Ryan enter first.

As soon as he stepped through, Ryan was attacked by the same creatures he'd saved Katy from.

"I can't say the same for you though." Riku said from somewhere in the room, as the Heartless bit and clawed at him.

Ryan felt the world begin to slip away from him and his last thoughts were that he hoped Katy was smarter than he was and wouldn't ever trust this guy.

**Traverse Town, 2****nd**** District Hotel**

A hazy yet familiar voice reached his ears, and Ryan strained to hear it, grateful for some sort of proof that reality was still out there. He then realized that his eyes were already open and he blinked a few times to clear his vision. The hysterical face of Cassie Halliday was leaning over him, a smile breaking out on her face shortly.

"You're okay! That means they did it! It's over…" Cassie babbled, pulling Ryan up and steadying him slightly before literally dragging him behind her.

"Cass, what's going on."

"Katy's in trouble. Like life or death trouble."

"What?! How do you know?!"

"I just do! Come on!"

Cassie pulled him forcefully onto the Gummi Ship that Queen Minnie had lent her and set a course for the End of the World.

Neither of them were prepared to see Katy bleeding to death with a sword sticking out of her chest. They managed to calm Sora down enough to help them get her into the ship.

"Make sure she stays awake." Ryan heard Sora tell Cassie.

"Don't worry, Ry's not gonna let her die that easily." Cassie answered before slamming the door of the ship shut and let them all be pulled back to Earth.

**

* * *

**

"And that's pretty much it." Ryan finished, playing with the edges of his coat sleeves.

Katy sighed as she thought about what a Heartless jerk Riku was. Even though he'd apologized to her and she'd accepted, mostly out of pity, she still wished she'd finished him off when she attacked him in the ship on Neverland.

"So now that that's out of the way…what are you going to do now, Katy?" Ryan asked, his voice serious

"I have to find Sora. He needs my help." Katy answered, flopping back onto the pillows.

"Katy, the world's walls are back up. You can't go to other worlds." Cassie explained

"Maybe you can't, but since I'm the Protector, I can. Do you still have that Gummi ship? The one you used to get me here?"

Her friends nodded.

"I'm gonna need to borrow it. As for getting out of here…I have a plan."

Cassie smirked and Ryan groaned. If Katy had a plan, it probably wasn't going to end well.

**

* * *

**

Sora sighed as he entered the seventh floor exit hall. There was still no sign of Katy and no new memories of Naminé. Looking up, he gasped. Standing across the hall from him was…

"You're…Riku?!" Sora exclaimed "What are YOU doing here?"

Riku glared at him

"Not happy to see me? Let me know if I'm getting in the way—ya know, of something more important."

"Huh? I didn't mean that…" Sora protested

"Hmph, spare the excuses. I bet you had all but forgotten about me." Riku said, still glaring.

"Are you crazy?! C'mon! I came all this way _looking_ for you!"

"But you're not anymore, right? Now it's only Naminé that you're looking for. You don't care about me. Just like you never cared…at all about her feelings."

"Naminé's…?"

"Hmph, I knew it. Never even gave it a thought, did you? Just 'cause you want to see Naminé—sorry—doesn't go both ways. Tell ya the truth, Naminé doesn't even want to look at your face."

"Why not?!"

"You should ask your memories…why Naminé disappeared from the Islands. Remember that, an you'd know."

"Did I…Did I do something? Is it my fault? Riku…"

Darkness surrounded Riku and his clothes changed into the ones he had in Hollow Bastion.

Yes...he's still wearing the skirt.

"Go home, Sora. I'll care for Naminé." Riku said through clenched teeth, his stance threatening "Anyone who goes near her…goes through me!" he said, drawing his blade and swinging it at Sora's head.

"What's—what's wrong with you?! We're supposed to be friends!" Sora exclaimed, trying to hold Riku's sword back.

"Please, Sora. Since when have you ever cared about me? Naminé's not the only one who's sick of looking at you. So am I."

As usual, Riku was incredibly difficult to fight. He seemed to be everywhere at once and fought viciously. Sora wondered what the hell he' _done_ to make his friend so pissed at him. All he'd been trying to do since he got here was help him, Katy, and Naminé. Finally Riku stepped back, gasping for breath. He gave Sora one last glare before taking off up the steps to the eighth floor.

"Riku, wait!" Sora protested, taking off after him.

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**A/N****: I know it's shorter than usual, the next few chapters are. Please Review!!**


	9. Riku STILL Hasn't Lost the Skirt

**Authors Note****: Okay, I'm sorry this is so late. Truth is, the comments about my updating really got to me and I was kinda discouraged for a while…until my friend, Tori, yelled at me and told me not to listen to the mean people and update anyway…otherwise she would eat my Ipod. So everyone! Thank her for this chapter (which she helped me write XD). I have the next chapter written up already, so I'll post it tomorrow if I get some reviews on this one. Speaking of reviews, Thanks to: M31Galaxy, D M Ash, Wormo the Green Lantern, soraroxas365, and CatchingforRain for reviewing. Thanks also to: OHMIGODZILLA and Emmeline Petrich for adding TBOMH to favorite story/story alert. Thanks also to those who read and don't review. You guys rock and it'd be great to get some feedback. Now ONWARD!**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable. Just my OCs

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"S'cuse me? Hey, please move? HEY!!"

The entire hospital stopped and stared at the tiny blue-haired girl standing in the middle of the crowded hospital hallway. Huffing, a very disgruntled Jordan Tate stomped down the hall and into Katy's room.

"I knew you were a klutz Lav, but really. Getting stabbed in an intergalactic battle? Everyone knows how cliché that is…even THIS nimrod." Jordan said, pointing over at Ryan.

Katy cracked a smile at the nickname. Because of her obnoxious hair color, Katy had been dubbed Lav by Jordan back in second grade.

Rolling his eyes at her comment, Ryan eyed the shorter girl.

"Nice to see you too, Tate."

"Likewise, Delagar." The azure haired girl quipped, throwing herself down on the hospital bed next to Katy.

"So, I hear you're in need of my vastly superior, mad acting skills." She said as she munched on the Doritos Cassie picked up from the supermarket.

"Indeed we are… did you bring the stuff?" Katy asked.

"Yessum. Right here." She answered gesturing to a CVS bag on the floor next to Ryan.

"Okay, here's the story. I have to go find the guy I was with before I got stabbed--"

"Right, that Sora kid Cass said you were macking on."

Ryan shook his head and Cassie snickered

"I wouldn't put it that way, but yeah. So you need to go take that stuff and try to look as much like me as possible."

"Get one of your drama geeks to help you." Ryan added

"Listen buddy…" Jordan growled, clenching her fists

"Guys! Really not the time!" Katy snapped.

Jordan pulled a guilty face.

"Sorry, Lav. I'll be good."

"Okay, so while you're doing that, Cassie Ryan and I are going to try and get a hold of the ship we came here on."

"Which, like I said, is going to be nearly IMPOSSIBLE to do considering it's over at Summerside Labs. That place is CRAWLING with security, Katy. It'd be easier to break into a high security prison." Ryan protested, not liking the idea in the slightest.

"We'll figure something out." Cassie assured him…or tried to.

"Anyway" Katy continued "I do not doubt your 'mad skills' but considering I have a huge gash in my chest and you don't, you obviously have to keep them from looking at it as much as possible."

"No problem, chief. I have it covered." Jordan said with a salute. "I should be ready in an hour, two at the most."

"Okay. The clothes they gave me are over there, take them. Make sure to call when you're on your way here so we can get rid of the nurses in the area."

Giving them a grin and a thumbs up, Jordan left the hospital, calling one of her "drama geeks" as she left. This was going to be fun.

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Rushing up the steps and going through the door Riku had passed through moments before, Sora gasped for breath.

"Riku, where are you?" He called out to the empty room, eyes darting around wildly trying to find his silver haired friend.

"Sora, are you okay?" Goofy asked, concerned.

"Don't worry about me…Riku, what happened?" Sora asked himself, dejected

Jiminy Cricket hopped up onto Sora's shoulder and tilted his head to the side in thought.

"Hmmm…sure was strange. Almost like Ansem was controlling Riku again."

Sora looked up, trying to keep calm.

"But we got rid of Ansem for good." He stated, resisting the urge to add "didn't we?" do the end of the sentence.

"Then I wonder what is wrong with Riku…" Goofy voiced, scratching his head.

"Hold on…The King! If the King's with Riku, he might be in danger!" Donald exclaimed.

This got no reaction whatsoever out of Sora.

"Sora…?" Donald called, thinking maybe that the teen hadn't heard him.

Jiminy hopped down from Sora's shoulder and looked up at him sympathetically.

"I know…you're thinking that Riku isn't your friend…but that's just not true."

"Ya sure?" Sora asked, a bit bitterly.

"Well, I know he said some awful things to you back there…but you have to remember we _are_ in Castle Oblivion. Why, folks lose their memory here a little bit at a time. Riku's probably just forgotten that the two of you were such close friends. That's all.

So much for not forgetting your friends, eh?

"So he just forgot?" Sora asked, brightening a bit.

"My guess is that's so, but Sora…Instead of being sad, we have to figure out a way to help Riku get his memory back. If we all work together, why, we're sure to get you through this. No need to mope."

"Jiminy's right. You shouldn't push your friends away." Goofy added

Yes, because SORA pushed RIKU away. Great logic. Not.

"Yeah, okay." Sora agreed half-heartedly

"Sora do you remember our very first promise?" Donald asked

"Huh?" Sora asked. Wracking his brain

"Always smile." Donald and Goofy said in unison.

"That's the promise we made when we first met. We promised to never forget to keep smiling." Goofy said with a grin.

Sora managed a smile of his own.

"You're right." He said as they all made their way to the door at the other end of the room.

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Jordan snuck in the side entrance of the hospital, trying extra hard to be quiet. Anyone who saw her would probably think she was trying to rob the place. She wore a large hoodie that swamped her tiny frame, falling well past her knees and covering her hands. A large pair of fake Chanel sunglasses covered her eyes and most of the upper part of her face. Her newly dyed hair was wrapped in a bun on top of her head and covered with a Yankee hat. Humming the James Bond theme under her breath, she stealthily made her way to Katy's room. When she reached the door she gave a battle cry and kicked it in, causing Cassie to shriek.

"THIS IS A MUGGING! GIVE ME ALL YOUR MONEY... AND CRUNCHY CHEESE SNACKS!" Jordan yelled, running over to the grocery back and grabbing the family sixed box of Cheese-Its.

"Dammit, Jor! Don't scare me like that!" Cassie yelled, trying to calm her rapid breathing.

Jordan stuck her tongue out at her before shedding her masterful disguise.

They all gaped openly at her.

"Jeez, it's like looking in a mirror!" Katy exclaimed, causing Jordan to grin.

"Awesome, huh?" she said, still grinning as she gave a little twirl.

"Yes, you're a genius." Ryan said, rolling his eyes.

"Thanks, Delagar. Nice of you to acknowledge that."

Ryan left to go start his car, ensuring that they could make a quick escape. Cassie grabbed the grocery bag, abandoning the Cheese-Its since she didn't want to be killed trying to take them back.

"Remember, Keep them from looking at the cut as long as possible." Katy said, pulling the heart monitor off her finger and placing it on Jordan's.

"Affirmative, chief. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Good luck, give that Sora kid a kiss for me."

Katy roller her eyes and smacked her friend upside the head. Grabbing her personal items, which included her extremely worn out book bag containing her 7-month overdue photography project, several hair ties and clips, and her extremely beat up but still working digital camera. Slinging it over the shoulder, she followed Cassie to the door and checked to see it the coast was clear.

"Hey, Lav, be careful okay?" Jordan said, tossing Katy her hoodie.

Katy grinned, sliding the worn piece of clothing over her blood-stained clothes.

"Okay, coast is clear. Let's move. Cassie said, tearing out the door, Katy following.

Once they were safely in Ryan's car, Katy stuck her hands in the pocket of her hoodie, feeling something in the pocket. Pulling it out, she grinned when she saw her beloved Ipod. Smushing the headphones in her ears, she dozed off to the wonderful music of Paramore.

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"This is a really, really, really, really bad idea. Did I mention that this is a bad idea? This is a really, really--"

"Ry, do us all a favor and shut your noise hole." Katy snapped as she looked around the lobby of the Summerside Labs building.

Cassie jogged over to them, thanking the lab tech she'd been conversing with over her shoulder.

"Okay, the ship is on the OD. We can take the elevator right up there."

"Um, OD?" Ryan asked, confused

"Observation Deck." The two girls chorused, already headed to the elevators.

"Ugh. This is _such_ a bad idea." Ryan muttered to himself, running to catch up.

They took the elevator to the floor below the observation deck and took the stairs the rest of the way. Crouching in the stairwell, they lowered their voices to whispers.

"Okay, Ryan. Go distract the techs and me and Cass will get the ship started. Then you have to hit that green button on the wall to open up the dome on the ceiling so we can get out." Katy instructed.

"Me?! Why me?!"

"Because Cassie's the only one who knows how to drive and they'll know who I am."

"Fine, but for the record, this is a really, really--"

"We know, Ry. Thanks." Katy cut him off, shoving him into the hallway.

Biting back a groan, Ryan struck up a conversation with the techs while Katy and Cassie snuck on board the Gummi Ship.

"You remember how to work this thing, I hope?" Katy asked her friend, looking at the massive amounts of knobs, buttons, and levers. This ship looked ten times more complicated than Donald and Goofy's.

"Don't worry. I got this." Cassie assured her, flicking some switches until the ship roared to life and began to hover off the ground.

Across the room, Ryan bid the shocked techs goodbye, hit the button on the wall, and ran screaming over to the ship, sprawling on the floor when Katy pulled him in.

"See ya, suckers! See? I told you this was a good idea!" Ryan exclaimed.

Katy and Cassie exchanged glances and sighed, tuning Ryan's babbling out as they entered deep space.

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Exiting Atlantica minus the fins, Sora's eyes widened as he saw Riku heading towards the door to the ninth floor.

"Take the hint… I told you to go home." Riku snapped when he heard Sora behind him.

"Not until I rescue you 'n Naminé." Sora replied

"I don't remember ever asking you to rescue me." Riku said, bluntly

"Did you forget? Kairi's waiting for us both to come home." Sora offered, praying Kairi would spark Riku's memory.

"You're the one who forgot. I told you at Kingdom Hearts when we closed the door…"Take care of Kairi." Give it up. I'm not going back to the Islands…for anything."

"It's not just for Kairi! What about the rest?"

"You can have those losers. Already forgot 'em."

"That's enough!" Sora exclaimed, drawing the Keyblade

"What about you, Sora? Do you actually remember what they all look like?"

"Of course I rememb--" Sora trailed off, realizing he _didn't _remember.

Riku laughed humorlessly

"Don't feel bad. That's what this castle does to you-- after a while. It's good; you forget all the useless stuff and remember for the first time what really matters. I remembered it, Sora. I remembered the one thing that's most important to me!"

Drum roll please!

"Protecting Naminé. Nothing else matters…not a thing."

Sora continued to look dejected, his mind drifting back to a happier time when he and Riku were children, playing on the Islands.

"Hey…Riku…I think I'll jog your memory." Sora said, drawing his Keyblade once more.

Riku sighed and rolled his eyes, drawing his own weapon.

"Go ahead and try."

And they battled epically once more.

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When they finally left Earth, all three passengers on the Gummi Ship watched in amazement as Katy's presence allowed them entrance through their world's wall. Sighing contently at the familiarity of space, Katy was finally able to relax.

"So Katy, where should we go to find Sora?" Cassie asked

Katy blinked at her friend's question.

"Um…"

Ryan slapped his forehead.

"You have no idea, do you?"

"Well…no. Not really."

"Spectacular."

Cassie sighed, and idea forming in her head.

"Look, why don't we go to Disney castle. I know Queen Minnie, maybe she can help."

"Okay." Katy agreed

"Sounds better that wandering around aimlessly in space." Ryan mumbled.

Rolling her eyes Cassie set a course for Disney Castle, praying that it's bring them one step loser to Sora.

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After yet another embarrassing loss, Riku struggled to get up off the floor.

"Heh, good try, Sora. You can fight me all you want but I still won't remember a thing."

Sora sighed, exasperated

"C'mon Riku, let's quit fighting. Let's go help Naminé."

"Together—right." Riku finished "So…like you. Sora—you're always trying to worm your way into my heart!" Riku exclaimed, holding his blade to Sora's throat.

"Hold on! When did I ever do that?" Sora asked

"Hmph! You forgot that, too? You never cared. It never mattered to you!" Riku yelled before running off again.

Sora sighed as he watched his friend leave again

"You won't push me away." He muttered to himself, following Riku up to the 9th floor.

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**A/N****: Review please! Next chapter up tomorrow!**


	10. Demyx Didn't Stop Calling Katy Babe

**Authors Note****: Okay! Here's the next installment of Beat of My Heart as promised. Thanks so much to: Wormo the Green Lantern, M31Galaxy, Deadly Papegoja, and SpringBorn for reviewing! Kudos also to XIVAxsaiaXLuxordXIII for adding BOMH to their favorite stories list. And as always, thanks to those of who read but don't review. I heart you too! Now on with the story!!!**

Disclaimer: I STILL don't own anything recognizable. Just my wonderful OCs

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"I refuse to disclose any information until I get a lawyer. I'M AN AMERICAN CITIZEN! I HAVE RIGHTS!"

"Please, Miss., your yelling is disturbing the other patients. Now, if you don't tell us where Miss. Tannith is, I'm afraid we'll have to involve the police."

"YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE, DOCTORS!" Jordan shrieked, kicking the doctor currently interrogating her in the shin before running out of the hospital, laughing like a maniac.

**Meanwhile…**

"Are we there yet?" Ryan whined

"No." Cassie snapped, gritting her teeth.

"How about now?"

"NO! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, NO!!!"

"Guys, can you yell quieter? I'm trying to sleep and I can hear you over top volume." Katy complained, gesturing to her Ipod

"Tell Ryan to stop being annoying!" Cassie moaned

"Ryan, stop being annoying."

"No. I don't wanna."

"See? It does nothing"

"You suck, Katy."

"I love you, too."

"SHUT UP AND DRIVE, CASS!"

"YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE THE RIGHT TO TELL ME TO SHUT UP, RY!"

"YELL QUIETER!"

"SHUT UP!" Ryan and Cassie yelled in unison.

It's gonna be a long trip…

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Naminé sat by herself in the white room, trying to hold back tears. She was reaching her breaking point. A dark corridor opened behind her and Axel stepped out, a sadistic grin on his face.

"Does it hurt, Naminé? Watching your two childhood friends fight all because of you?"

Naminé said nothing

"You have my sympathies. From the heart." Axel continued with false sincerity

Naminé glared at him, but still remained silent. Nobodies didn't have hearts.

"Don't waste your time. We Nobodies can never hope to be somebodies." Axel finished, vanishing into a dork corridor, once more leaving Naminé alone.

**Meanwhile…**

"I don't get it. Riku and I—we both want the same thing. Both of us want to help Naminé out. How come we're fighting each other? I mean, Riku and I have fought about stuff in the past, but…" Sora trailed off

"Could be 'cause you care what happens to each other." Goofy suggested

"Hm…I really thought so, too, but…maybe Riku doesn't…"

"You can't give up! You're friends—tied together! Sora, Riku, and…and…"

Donald hesitated

"What was her name?" He asked Goofy

"Hm. It seems our memories are fading mighty fast. Sora we better hurry. I bet Riku will come around if you just talk to him."

"You're right…we three were never apart. Me, Riku and Naminé"

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**A few hours and several arguments later…**

"We're here. Halle-freaking-lujah. Now lemme off this ship before I kill both of you." Cassie grumbled, still grinding her teeth together in annoyance.

Ryan bounded out of his seat with a happy yell and skipped off the ship, dragging a very tired Katy behind him.

"Stop, Ry! OW! Jeez! See my arm? It's ATTATCHED to the rest of me!" Katy whined, trying to roll her headphones around her Ipod with one hand and keep her arm from being torn off at the same time.

"Walk faster! They might have food in there! Or candy!" Ryan exclaimed

"CANDY!" Katy shrieked, breaking out of Ryan's grip and running at full speed towards the castle.

Cassie sighed and shook her head, thinking, wistfully about how easy things were 6 months ago. Right about now, The three of them plus Jordan would probably all be hanging out at Ryan's, ordering takeout and kicking each others asses at Call of Duty. Now they were on a different world, looking for directions to yet another world in order to save the entire universe from destruction…

Or something like that.

At that moment, guards came out of the castle gates and surrounded Katy and Ryan, effectively ending their happy frolicking.

"Who are you? What business do you have here?" The guard demanded, his weapon at Ryan's throat.

"Uh…hehe. You see, we were hoping…" Ryan stammered

"They're with me! Cassie called out, jogging over to her friends.

The guards face changed from suspicious to pleasantly surprised.

"Miss. Halliday! It's so nice to see you again!"

"Likewise. And I've said before, please call me Cassie."

"Well, Cassie, what brings you back to Disney Castle?"

"Is it possible for us to see the Queen? It's really important."

"Of course!" The guard said, cheerily

They were led through the vast castle courtyard, Katy and Ryan staring in awe at the giant topiaries that lined the grounds.

"Jeez, Cass. You've got connections." Ryan whispered, causing the other two girls to snicker.

They reached the throne room and Cassie assured the guards that they were fine goin in themselves.

Upon hearing the door open, Queen Minnie looked up and gasped at the three teenagers making their way across the still ridiculously long stretch of floor.

"Cassie? What in the world are you doing here? How did you get past the walls?" Minnie asked.

Cassie grinned

"I'm here because my best friend, Katy, the girl I told you about, just happens to be the Keyblade Master's Protector. Go figure, huh?"

Queen Minnie gasped again, looking over at Katy. After a few moments of silence she smiled;

"It's an honor to meet you Katy."

"Um..thanks…you too." Katy replied, looking at the ground

Her face was probably every shade of red right now.

"And you must be Ryan." The Queen stated, looking over at the third gob smacked teen.

"Uh…Y-yeah.. N-nice to m-meet you, Y-Your Majesty." Ryan stuttered, still looking around the huge room in awe.

"So Cassie… How did you manage to find your friends." Minnie asked, curiously

"It's a looooooooooong story, Majesty." Cassie answered

The Queen smiled

"I have time."

So Cassie launched into her epic tale, Katy and Ryan chiming in when necessary.

"So I got Demyx to tell me Sora's name and I woke up screaming bloody murder in the hospital. Then Cass, Ry, and I devised a foolproof plan to ditch Earth and find Sora…I kinda don't really know where he is. So we came here, hoping you'd have some idea." Katy finished all in one breath.

After taking a few seconds to process it all, Minnie smiled sadly.

"You've all been through so much, and I'm happy it all turned out well for you in the end--"

"I feel a "but" coming on." Ryan interjected, causing Cassie to slap him upside the head

"But…" The Queen continued "I'm afraid I don't have any idea where Sora could be. All I know is that it must be someplace where he can get to the other worlds, despite the walls surrounding them. Even he would not be able to pass through them. Only the Protector has that privilege."

The three teens exchanged disappointed looks.

"It's okay, we figured as much. Thank you anyway, Majesty." Cassie said, ruefully.

"Feel free to stay as long as you like." The Queen called after them.

Several hours after the whole fiasco, Katy was in her temporary room pacing back and forth. She had to get to Sora. He needed her help…she could feel it. If only there was someone who could help her…

As though fate was listening to her thoughts and took pity on her, a dark corridor opened behind her. Whirling around in surprise, she gasped as she was brought face-to-face with…

"Demyx?!"

"In the flesh, babe." The blonde answered, grinning

Katy narrowed her eyes

"I told you…don't call me babe."

Demyx rolled his eyes.

"So…what are you doing here?" Katy asked.

"Well, I figured that since I already broke the rules and helped you out once, I might as well do it again."

He took a piece of paper out of his pocket and gave it to her.

"If anyone asks…this is how you found Castle Oblivion."

"Castle Oblivion?" Katy asked

"Yep. That's where your boyfriend is."

Demyx opened up another dark corridor and gestured to it.

"Right through there."

Katy looked at him, suspiciously

"Why are you helping me?"

Demyx looked down at the floor and…was he blushing?!

"Look, just go…before I change my mind."

"Fine." Katy said, quickly grabbing a piece of paper and pen to write a quick explanation for Cassie and Ryan.

Leaving the note on the desk, she started for the dark corridor. Before she walked in, she turned back and gave Demyx a genuine smile.

"Thank you…for everything."

"No problem, babe."

Rolling her eyes at the babe comment Katy walked through the dark corridor, praying Demyx wasn't screwing her over.

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Reaching the ninth floor exit, Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked around for Riku…but he wasn't there.

"Where'd Riku go?" Donald asked

"Guess he finally got tired of fightin' with ya." Goofy said

"I sure hope so…" Sora sighed

Their attention was deterred when a dark corridor opened and spit out a girl with long, lavender colored hair who was muttering profanities as she got up off the ground.

Sora's eyes widened

"Katy?!"

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**A/N****: AHHHHHHHH! The moment you've been waiting for! 5 reviews please!**


	11. Maleficent Didn't Get Any Less Evil

**Authors Note: Sorry for the delay! My brother played the Hollow Bastion level on my game so I had to start a new file to get the dialogue. So many wonderful reviews! Kudos to: soraroxas365, SpringBorn, Deadly Papegoja, D M Ash, Wormo the Green Lantern, CatchingForRain, m31galaxy, and Bubbles of Ebil for reviewing. Also, thanks to again to Bubbles of Ebil for adding BoMH to Story Alert. AND, one more special thanks to J1210 for his review on K'sK. There should be another chapter out this weekend! Don't worry, I hide the game after I use it now. READ ON, MINIONS!**

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OCs

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_Reaching the ninth floor exit, Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked around for Riku…but he wasn't there._

_"Where'd Riku go?" Donald asked_

_"Guess he finally got tired of fightin' with ya." Goofy said_

_"I sure hope so…" Sora sighed_

_Their attention was deterred when a dark corridor opened and spit out a girl with long, lavender colored hair who was muttering profanities as she got up off the ground._

_Sora's eyes widened_

_"Katy?!"_

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Katy whipped around, grinning like a maniac

"In the flesh!"

"So you're not…" Sora trialed off, not wanting to say the word aloud.

"Nope. C'mon, it's gonna take more than a 30 inch sword through the chest to take me out!" She said, exchanging hugs with Donald and Goofy.

Her comment wasn't really wasn't that funny, but the lack of sarcasm due to her absence caused Sora to literally fall on the floor laughing, the others looking on with part concerned part amused gazes.

"Jeez…was I gone that long?" She asked herself, helping Sora up off the ground.

Sora's answer to her question was to kiss her hard on the mouth.

"Way too long." He said, pulling back and resting his forehead against hers.

They grinned stupidly at each other until Donald cleared his throat rather loudly behind them.

"Right…" Katy said, stepping back reluctantly. "So what's been going on?"

It took the trio a better part of an hour to explain their adventures in Castle Oblivion to her, which was difficult considering their memories were being stripped away floor by floor.

When they were finished, Katy stared at them blankly.

"Okay, lemme get this straight. You got here by following Pluto who showed up out of freaking nowhere with a letter from King Mickey (totally _not_ suspicious), You got attacked by numerous people with black cloaks, one who has _rose petals _following him around, You're going back to worlds we've already gone to, but nobody remembers you, Riku is attacking you when you saved his life, and on top of it all, you're doing this to save a girl you remembered a few _days _ago. Is that everything?"

The three exchanged glances

"Yep, that pretty much hits the nail on the head."

"Okay, just one more question…ARE YOU COMPLETELY INSANE??!!"

The trio flinched

"Do you realize that this castle had TRAP written all over it in bright red sharpie! What the hell are you still DOING here?! Did you learn NOTHING from me in the past?!"

"But, Naminé--"

"Screw Naminé! She obviously doesn't want to be saved! Are you really gonna try to get yourself killed over a girl you barley know? What about the promise you made to Kairi?!"

Sora looked at her funny.

"Who's Kairi?"

Katy blinked a few times, realizing the gravity of the situation. Taking a deep breath, she decided it could be worse. He could have not remembered who she was and attacked her, which would have been _really_ bad since she couldn't hurt him physically. She'd just have to work with what memories he had left.

"No one. She's no one. Forget I mentioned her."

Sora nodded slowly, but his face was scrunched in thought, like he was trying to remember.

"So, now that we've got all that out of the way, shall we go up the staircase of certain doom?"

The others laughed again and nodded. Finally reunited, the party ascended to the 10th floor.

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Meanwhile, back with Organization XIII…

Completely unaware to Katy's appearance, Larxene, Axel, and Vexen were currently wrapped up in a dispute…

"So what's going on, Vexen? Your Riku was supposed to counter Sora. What's he waiting for? Where is he?" Larxene taunted, causing Vexen to seethe

"He's hiding somewhere to lure Sora deeper into the castle, right?" Axel asked, sarcasm apparent in his tone. He turned back to Larxene "I suppose we should just leave it at that, you know." He said with a smirk

"A-ha! Oh, I see now!" Larxene played along "I would have _never_ guessed that! So sorry, Vexen."

"Silence!" Vexen spat

Larxene rolled her eyes

"Predictable response. Forget it. Men without hearts are so boring."

"You're one to talk. As if you have such a heart to speak of yourself." Vexen fired back

"Enough." A cold, authoritative voice echoed around the room.

A dark corridor appeared and a black cloaked figure stepped out.

"Marluxia!" Larxene exclaimed

Marluxia took down his hood, a flurry of rose petals falling from his pink hair.

"Vexen, the simple fact is that your project was a failure. You'd best not disappoint us again."

"Disappoint YOU? You go too far!" Vexen yelled at the younger man. "In this Organization, you're No. 11! I'm No. 4 and I will not have you--"

He was interrupted when Marluxia shoved his flower-shaped staff in his face.

"I have been entrusted this castle and Naminé by our leader. Defying mw will be seen as treason against the Organization."

"Traitors are eliminated. I believe that's what the rules say." Axel said from his spot next to Larxene

"Who needs a half-baked good-for-nothing anyway?" The blonde nymph added, hands on her hips.

"Ngg…" Vexen growled under his breath

"Vexen, you cannot win against Sora" Marluxia continued in a patronizing tone

"Pity to be so ignorant. As you're able to see the surface of things. I should not expect you to appreciate my true might." Vexen defended himself

"Oh?" Marluxia asked, his staff disappearing."Then let us watch you prove it.

"What?" Vexen asked, alarmed

"None of us wish to be suspicious of a comrade." Marluxia said, turning his back on the others in the room.

"Your insincerity is comforting." Vexen retorted as he vanished into a dark corridor.

"You give a challenge like that to Vexen and he'll seriously want to eliminate Sora." Axel pointed out.

Marluxia smirked

"That would be an unfortunate denouement."

The pink haired man strode across the room to where Naminé was sitting alone. He rested a gloved hand on her tiny shoulder, causing her to jump

"What to do? Your hero is soon to be wiped from existence. But I believe there is a certain promise that he made you. Isn't that right, Naminé?"

For the first time since she was brought to the castle, she spoke

"…Yes"

Marluxia's smirk grew wider and he left the blonde to sit by herself and continue to lose hope.

**Meanwhile…**

"WOW! The tenth floor…We've gotten up pretty high." Donald exclaimed

"And that must mean we've lost ten whole floors worth of our memories." Jiminy Cricket pointed out.

Katy blinked in surprise

"The cricket actually has an opinion now? I must've been gone longer than I thought…" She mumbled to herself.

"Sora, it's still not too late. Don't you think we should turn back?" Jiminy continued.

"I do, if it effects your opinion any." Katy added, waving her hand in the air.

"Can't do it…because…that would break an old promise that I made."

"An old promise? What would that be?" The cricket asked

"On the islands, I promised Naminé—that I'd keep her safe, no matter what. But I forgot it. I didn't remember until I started forgetting everything else! A promise between the two of us. That's why I can't leave. Now that I remember the promise, I have to keep it."

"Of course. We understand, Sora." Jiminy said with a smile

As Sora approached the door to the next world, Katy stopped him.

"Sora, this is really weird. From what you told me, you and Naminé were little kids when she lived on the islands. Why would you make a promise like that to a three for four year old."

For a moment, Sora looked unsure and his eyes looked a little clearer, like he knew she was onto something. Then they clouded over again and he set his jaw in a frown.

"I have to save her, Katy." He said, pulling his hand out of her grasp.

Katy watched as he advanced across the room. This wasn't right. She could _feel_ it in her core. This whole castle was just plain wrong and she wanted nothing more than to get everyone out before it was too late; but in a way, it was. They were already too far gone, lost in their so called true memories…

Bullshit

"Sora…do you remember the promise I made you? Just before we fought Ansem?"

Sora froze.

"…No…I don't." He said, turning to face her with wide, almost scared eyes.

"I promised you that after everything was over I'd go with you to your Island." She said slowly. "I said that I'd stay with you, Riku, and Kairi."

Sora opened his mouth to speak, probably to ask who Kairi was again, but Katy stopped him.

"Don't say anything. Just remember that, for me, okay."

Sore closed his mouth and nodded

"I promise."

On that note, the party entered the door to the next "world"

**

* * *

**

As they entered the world that only Katy knew to be Hollow Bastion, the sound of garbled speech echoed around the four of them.

"I'm hearin' voices! I wonder who it is." Goofy said, tilting his head to the side to hear better.

Jiminy hopped off of Sora's shoulder and inched closer to where coming from.

"Shhh! I think something's wrong!"

"But Belle, I don't understand!" A…Beast in a purple cape and ragged blue pants exclaimed to a girl in a fancy yellow dress. "I came here to rescue you!"

"Beast…" Belle sighed. "I did not ask you to come. And it doesn't matter anyway. I'm not going back with you, so you're wasting your time.

"Belle? Do you know what you're saying? How can you stay here with that witch?"

"I've nothing more to say. Now leave before she finds you."

And with that, she left.

"Belle…why?" Beast asked himself, sadly

"I'm not sure what's going on, but…is everything okay?" Sora asked tentatively

"Don't feel bad. There must be a reason she said those things." Donald added

The Beast whirled around and glared at them.

"Keep your sympathy. No one could ever care for a beast like me." He muttered, sulking away

"Poor guy. Sure wish there was something we could do for him." Goofy said, sympathetically.

After a few moments of processing, the four ran further unto the area they were in, Donald and Goofy disappearing as usual. Katy however stayed, just like she had when she was in The Nothing. Sora grinned at her and she returned it

"Let's do this" She exclaimed, drawing her blades and running ahead of the other teen.

**

* * *

**

Sora had never been happier to have another person fight with him. The Heartless were EVERYWHERE. The pair finally got a break when they entered a library. Donald and Goofy reappeared and as they looked around they found Belle.

"Who are you? Were you kidnapped too?" She asked, glumly

"Uh…not exactly. It's a long story.

"A long and _painful_ story. You wouldn't like it." Katy added, throwing herself down on the floor panting

"Wait!" Sora exclaimed. "You've been kidnapped? You don't want to be here?"

"Yes…No I don't really want to be here. That witch forced me to come here. I have no one to talk to. Books are all I have to ease my loneliness. And then there's him…Oh, I've missed him so much."

"You mean the Beast?" Goofy asked

"The guy whose heart you totally ripped out back there?" Katy added, lifting her head off the ground to squint over at Belle

"You really hurt his feelings." Sora said

"I had to…I couldn't tell him how I really feel." Belle explained

Katy let her head fall back to the cool tile floor with a dull thud, mumbling something about ungrateful damsel in distresses

"Why not?" Sora asked

"It's just that--" Belle stopped abruptly and gasped "Oh no, she's coming! Hide, quickly!"

Donald and Goofy ran off behind some bookshelves and Sora literally dragged Katy's still prone form over to a secluded corner.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." She groaned, leaning on Sora's leg instead of laying on the floor.

So, my wonderful readers, who do YOU think it is?

If you said Maleficent, hoo-ray for you! You get a cookie!

"Oh…hello. To what do I owe this visit?" Belle asked with forced politeness.

"He was here—yes?" Maleficent asked. "He risked his life to come and save you. Why do you reject him?"

"I won't ask for his help."

"Oh, and why is that?"

"You know very well why." Belle said with hatred. "I'm not going to fall into your trap!"

"Then I have no choice but to make you BEG for his help!" Maleficent exclaimed

Then, with a wave of her staff her and Belle disappeared in a rush of green flames

"No! She got away!" Sora sighed, kicking the bookshelf nearest to him

"What should we do?" Goofy asked

"Risk out lives some more, obviously! What else?" Katy said cheerfully, pulling Sora out of the library.

And once again, they were off!

**

* * *

**

The party followed Belle and Maleficent to a large room with a fountain in the middle.

"What are you waiting for? Call to him!" Maleficent ordered as she backed Belle up against the fountain's stone basin.

"No! I won't let you hurt him!" Belle exclaimed

"Then I shall make you scream! The fool will come running the moment he hears your cries." The sadistic witch cried.

"Enough!" Sora shouted, the word echoing around the vast interior. "The Beast isn't the only one you have to deal with."

"Be gone, boy. You have no business here." Maleficent hissed

"That's where you're wrong, lady. Us distressed damsels have to stick together." Katy said, nodding over at Belle.

"No need to intervene." Beast's voice said from the balcony above. He dropped down and landed a few feet shy of Belle.

"You're here!" Belle exclaimed. "No! You mustn't! I told you to leave this place! Leave me alone! I never want to see your face again!"

"Belle…" Beast said, sadness creeping into his voice. "All right. If that's how you feel, I understand. My hideousness is punishment for being selfish and unable to love. I was made into a monster, loved by no one…and I only became more selfish. That is…until I met you, Belle. You're the only person who accepted me. Little by little you warmed my cold, selfish heart. The memories of our days together are my most precious. I won't cast them aside. So I'm sorry, but I can't leave you here…even if you hate me for it. Consider it my final selfish act."

"Oh, Beast…" Belle said, defeated

"Well, well." Maleficent droned, stepping forward. "I never dreamed such ugliness could hide such a beautiful heart. This calls for a change of plan. Beast, I shall claim your heart instead of Belle's!"

The witch raised her staff again and Belle screamed running towards Beast so that the blast that would have took his heart took hers instead.

"Well, so much for the change of plan." Maleficent sighed. "Belle's heart it is after all. It seems her cold words spoke little of her true feelings. She loves you, Beast. I can feel it shining in her heart!"

"You fiend! Release Belle's heart at once!"

"Yes, because asking the bad guys totally works." Katy mumbled

Maleficent simply smirked and disappeared in green flames.

"She went this way! The way the shadows fled! Let's go get Belle's heart back!" Sora exclaimed

"You'd help me?" The Beast asked, surprised.

"It's what we do, dude. Solve other peoples problems and make the worlds better places." Katy sadi, chasing after Sora before he got himself killed

**

* * *

**

Following the fleeing shadows, the five followed Maleficent to a dimly lit chamber.

"You've done well to make it this far, Beast. As your reward, I'll tell you why Belle rejected you. My dark magic requires hearts of utmost beauty. Belle was perfect. Deep in her heart, her love for you shone with uncommon radiance. But she guessed my plans. By denying her love for you, she put her heart beyond my reach."

"But she saved me! She protected me!" Beast exclaimed.

"She couldn't hide how she really felt." Sora realized

""I've heard enough! Release her heart NOW!" Beast demanded.

"Don't you realize why I'm telling you all this? Did you think it was out of kindness? I did it to erase your doubts. Now your heart is beginning to shine with your love for Belle. I shall have your heart too, monster!"

"Not if we stop you!" Sora shouted

"You dare challenge me? Pitiful fools!" Maleficent cackled before attacking.

**

* * *

**

The battle ended epically and with few injuries (thankfully). Katy found it much easier to fight without the talking animals, specifically Donald, breathing down her neck. As they all caught their breath, Belle's heart was released and she materialized in front of them.

"Belle! Thank goodness." Beast exclaimed

"Please forgive me. I had to be cruel to you."

"I'm the one who needs to be forgiven…for doubting you. I never want to remember feeling that way…so angry, so alone."

"The don't. Let's replace the sad memories with happy ones. Starting now."

"There they go with the mushy stuff" Goofy said

"Yeah, I think it's time to be on our way." Sora said

The four left the two lovers alone to their own devices and continued back to Castle Oblivion

**

* * *

**

They hadn't been back in the castle one minute when a dark corridor opened and a man in a black cloak whom none of them had ever seen before walked out of it.

"Who are you?!" Sora exclaimed

The man's eyes widened when he saw Katy, but other than that he didn't seem phased.

"I am Vexen. I have come to collect your debt, Sora."

"A debt? Sora, do you owe somethin' to this guy?"

"Come on. Of course not." Sora answered

"Oh, but you do." Vexen continued "You owe me for reuniting you with your former friend."

"You mean the jerky, egotistical, and pig-headed one?" Katy asked, innocently

"Shut up, girl! Bur yes, I'm the one who brought Riku to you."

"Then…you're the one…" Sora stuttered "You're the one who's been controlling him. What have you done to him?" Sora demanded.

Vexen smirked

"I see no need to give you information about where Riku is. After all—why trouble you in your final hour?"

In a millisecond, Donald and Goofy vanished and Sora and Katy had their weapons drawn, ready to strike.

And so, yet another epic battle commenced.

**

* * *

**

"As I expected, you weren't one to die very easily." Vexen panted after losing to Sora and Katy

"Been there, done that. Not planning on trying it again any time soon." Katy bit back

"Yeah, as if we'd ever lose to you!" Sora exclaimed

"I wouldn't be so sure. Didn't you even notice? I was delving deep into your memory as we fought. And here, look what I found." Vexen held up a card with a picture of an unfamiliar world. "A card crafted from all the memories that are locked in the other side of your heart."

As soon as the words left his mouth her disappeared into a dark corridor, despite Sora's protests.

" Memories…from the other side?" Sora asked aloud, looking over at the others, who all shrugged. Deciding to puzzle through it after a small break, the continues up to the 11th floor.

**

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**

**A/N: 5 reviews please! I'll try to get another chapter out by Sunday!**


	12. Twilight Town Didn't Get More Familiar

**Authors Note: Sorry I couldn't get this out yesterday, wonderful readers. I was hanging out at my Grandmas and didn't have access to a computer to tie up some of the loose ends. I'm going to try my absolute best to update every Sunday, but since regents and finals are right around the corner, I'm a little bogged down with school work. I should actually be doing my geometry homework right now…Anyway, on that note, Thanks to: SpringBorn, Deadly Papegoja, J1210, Bubbles of Ebil, soraroxas365, Wormo the Green Lantern, and CatchingForRain for their wonderful reviews. Praises also to:**** duas escritoras, J1210, and ShimmerMist for checking those wonderful boxes. And as always, thanks to all of you who read, but don't review. You rock as well. By the way, if someone wants to be helpful and can tell me how many floors are in the ps2 version of the game, it would be much appreciated. So now that I'm done rambling, happy reading!**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable. Just my wonderful OCs

**

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**

Back in the observation-type room, Larxene, Axel, and Marluxia were sanding around the crystal-ball-thingy deep in discussion.

"If Sora disappears, that would mess up the Organization's plans." Axel said slowly

"I trust you know what you need to do." Marluxia answered stoically

Axel smirked

"Haven't a clue, really. Maybe you could spell it out for me."

"Vexen has clearly committed a treasonous act against the Organization" Marluxia continued. "You must eliminate the traitor."

"No taking that back later." Axel warned, stepping through a dark corridor to do as he was ordered.

Meanwhile…

Sora and the others made their way to the up to the 11th floor world doorway. Sora took the card he'd won from Vexen out of his pocket and studied it. Jiminy hopped up in the teen's shoulder and joined him in his observation

"A card made out of memories from "The other side of your heart"? Hmm, I wonder what it does."

"Probably something cryptic and riddle ridden." Katy said, giggling at the alliteration

"We'll find out soon enough. It's the only one we have left. No other way to move forward." Sora said, grimly. He was with Katy on this one. There was something not right about what Vexen told them about this card.

"Well, let's get on with it." Katy said, motioning for Sora to go ahead and open the door.

"The usual bright light engulfed them and left them to trudge on into the unknown…this time for real.

**

* * *

**

They arrived in a sleepy looking town with paved streets and quaint little shops arranged in a plaza. There didn't seem to be any immediate threats, so the party took some time to look around.

"Gawrsh…where are we, Sora?"

"Hmm…" Sora thought, trying to place it in his mind. "I dunno…I've never been here

"Me either." Donald said

"Ditto." Katy agreed, watching as a tram chugged slowly passed them.

"That can't be right! Up 'till now, the only places we've been are from Sora's memory." Jiminy pointed out.

"Maybe so, but I definitely don't remember this." Sora said firmly.

"You might have forgotten this town just like the other stuff." Donald proposed

"This is terrible. Our memories are practically gone." Jiminy sighed

"Mine isn't. And I guarantee you guys we've never been here." Katy reassured, looking around the unfamiliar plaza.

This brightened the other's spirits a bit.

"We'll be okay. See, look at this…" Sora took out the charm Kairi had given him. "Naminé's good luck charm!"

Katy's eyes widened slightly and she fought the urge to smack Sora upside the head until he got his memories back. Instead she took a few deep breaths and kept her cool. It wasn't his fault. It's was those people in the black cloaks…

"There's a special memory that goes with this." Sora continued. "One night when Naminé and I were little, there was this meteor shower. Naminé started crying. She said "What if a shooting star hits the islands?" So I said "If a shooting star comes this way, I'll hit it right back into outer space!" I was swinging this toy sword around the whole time. Naminé just smiled and said, "Thanks." And then she gave me this.

"_Sora, I'm so sorry. All this, because of me…"_

Katy looked around to see if anyone else had heard the phantom voice, but apparently she was the only one…or Sora thought it was part of his memory and ignored it. He continued to speak as if nothing had happened

"Naminé said she had it ever since she was a baby."

"And she gave it to you? Aww…" Donald cut it

"Yeah. So I promised her…From now on, I'll bring you good luck. I'll keep you safe. But then one day, Naminé left the islands…and I forgot all about her all this time. I really let her down… Sora's voice trailed off and it was apparently the end of his story.

Katy decided not to point out all of the things that didn't add up…she didn't have the heart. She went along with it, pasted on a smile, and followed Sora further into the town to kill some Heartless. She really needed an outlet right now, lest she start banging her head against a wall in frustration.

**

* * *

**

Fighting off what felt like zillions of Heartless. Sora and Katy found refuge in a nearby wooded area. Donald and Goofy reappeared with their signature pops and joined them in their wandering. Finally the party came across a large mansion protected by a sturdy iron gate with a large keyhole. Sora was staring at the building with a look of frustration on his face.

"What's wrong?" Goofy asked

"Something…feels really strange. I'm sure I don't know this place, but it's starting to feel really familiar to me…."

He turned to look at Katy, who often shared these feelings with him and she nodded slowly.

"Yeah…I defiantly feel like I've been here before. I know we haven't but it's like déjà vu."

"You must have come here sometime before." Donald insisted, tapping his foot impatiently.

"No, and that's what's strange." Sora replied, pulling at his hair in frustration as he edged closer to the gate.

"It could be like with Naminé. You forgot lots of other stuff—and that's why you remember this place now."

"No…It's different." Sora said, staring at the mansion intently

"Yeah, I can feel it too and I haven't lost or gained any memories." Katy agreed

"Right…And with Naminé my memories…sort of came drifting back to me, a little piece at a time. But not now. It's not memories—just this idea that I must have been here before."

"So, feeling nostalgic?" A familiar voice asked.

They all turned around in time to see Vexen step out of a dark corridor.

"Sora…a question, then, for you." The scientist continued. "Your memories of Naminé or your feelings here—which of the two of these is more real, I wonder."

"Naminé of course!" Sora said immediately. "Whatever it is I'm feeling, I bet it's another one of your mean little tricks!"

Katy snorted

"Mean little tricks? Are you five? And, hello! I feel the same thing you do! Or is that just a coincidence?"

Sora shot her a glare, but otherwise ignored her.

Vexen laughed, amused by the exchange.

"The memory's wiles can be cruel. In its silence, we forget. In its obsession, it binds our hearts."

"Cut the riddles!" Sora said through clenched teeth.

"I told you—this place was created solely from another side of your memory. It is on the other side of your heart that the memory of this place exists. It is your heart that remembers."

"You're wrong! I don't know this place!" Sora insisted, his voice almost desperate.

"If you remain bound by the chain of memories and refuse to believe what is truly found inside your heart…then throw it away. You are not a Keyblade Master—just a slave to twisted memories."

Even though he was a couple fries short of a Happy Meal, Katy had to admit, he had a point. Sora was so fixed of saving Naminé, a girl who he'd forgotten existed until a couple of days ago, that he wasn't seeing that there was something behind the déjà vu he was feeling from this place. Of course try to explain that to him and he'd dismiss you, always stuck in heroic savior mode. Boys must be programmed that way…at least the ones she knew.

Vexen wasn't finished, however…

"Yes, a slave to twisted memories…Exactly like my Riku." He made his annoying big-ass ice shield appear."Your existence is worth nothing!"

"like YOUR Riku? Worth nothing?" Sora repeated, puzzle pieces starting to come together. His body started to shake with anger. "That's enough! YOU'RE the one who changed Riku! Every word you've said is a lie! I's never throw away my heart! I'm gonna take you down and save Riku and Naminé. THAT'S what's in my heart!"

And on that happy note, Sora basically jumped at Vexen, the Keyblade narrowly missing his head as the fight began.

**

* * *

**

After Kicking Vexen's ass for a second time, Katy and Sora stopped to catch their breath And they weren't the only ones…

"Urrgh…You have such strength…even at the mercy of your memory…" Vexen panted

"None of that matters. Just put Riku back!" Sora demanded.

Vexen laughed humorlessly.

"Just put him back? The Riku you speak of has but one fate…to sink into darkness--- and you will share that fate, Sora!" Vexen wheezed. He really wasn't looking too good… "If you continue to seek the girl Naminé, the shackles will tighten, you'll lose your heart, and end up becoming Marluxia's pawn!"

Ummm…he probably shouldn't have said that…

"Marluxia?" Sora asked, confused? "What does Naminé have to do with--?"

He was interrupted by a fireball whizzing by his head, missing it by mere centimeters.

The fireball hit Vexen, laying him out on the grass.

"Axel!" Sora exclaimed

"Who?" Katy asked

"Yo, Sora!...and Sora's lady friend." He called back grinning eerily at her.

Jeez, she hadn't known him five minutes and he already gave her the creeps.

"It's Katy." She said back, deciding she didn't want to be referred to as "Sora's lady friend"

"Katy then. Nice to meet you."

"I wish I could say the same." Katy said, crossing her arms

"What are you doing here, Axel?" Sora asked

"Oh, did I catch you at a bad time?" Axel mocked, still grinning his creepy grin.

Meanwhile Vexen was trying to get up, but it seemed as though his strength was failing him.

"Axel…why?" He choked out, still gasping for air

"I came to stop you from talking too much. By eliminating your existence" Axel said simply, as though it was normal, everyday occurrence.

"No! Don't do it!" Vexen pleaded

"We are just Nobodies who have no one to be, yet still "are". But now you can be nothing instead of just being a Nobody. You're off the hook."

"No…please don't!" Vexen begged, cowering against the iron gate. "I don't want to--"

"Goodbye." Axel said simply, the sadistic gleam back in his eyes as he snapped his fingers.

Then they all watched in awe and horror as Vexen went up in flames.

"What are you?" Sora whispered, shaking his head slightly.

The he repeated it, this time shouting

"What ARE you people?!"

Axel smirked

"I don't know. I wonder about that myself." He answered before being swallowed by a dark corridor.

They stood there for a couple of moments, processing, before taking the door that would eventually lead them back to Castle Oblivion.

**

* * *

**

Axel returned to the observation room to find Larxene and Marluxia waiting for him.

"Nice work. I say good riddance to that blabbermouth." Larxene praised

"Marluxia, you used Vexen to test Sora's strength, didn't you?" Axel asked, ignoring the blonde nymph

"Not just Sora's, it was yours, too." Larxene answered for their leader. "We weren't sure you actually had it in your bones to take out a fellow member. Well, I guess that you did. It's time to join up. Taking over the Organization will be like child's play with the three of us."

"So that's where Sora comes in." Axel muttered, more to himself than the others.

"Of course. He wants to see Naminé so why don't we just give him what he wants?" Larxene replied, directing the ladder part of her statement to Marluxia, who nodded slightly.

"Rejoice, Naminé." The pink haired man said to the blonde in the corner. "The time is near for you to meet the hero that you've been longing for."

"I'm…glad" Naminé answered softly

"But I'm warning you," Larxene sneered, lowering herself down to the smaller blondes level. "You'd better not do anything to betray Sora's feelings. Do you understand, little one."

"I understand." She answered again, almost robotically

"All you need do is layer Sora's memories, and bring his heart closer to you." Marluxia instructed before leaving, Larxene following him.

Naminé looked down at her sketchbook, barley keeping the tears from escaping

"Sora." She said to herself softly, bringing Axel's attention to her. "Even if you come for me—what then?"

Meanwhile…

Sora and the others made there way to the staircase to the eleventh floor in silence. It was broken when Sora gasped in surprise at something in front of them. Looking up from the ground, Katy saw the last person she wanted to see right now. Riku.

"God, He's still wearing that thing." She muttered to herself, shaking her head at the grass skirt.

"Riku!" Sora exclaimed, starting towards his friend.

"You'll hurt Naminé if you go any further." He warned

That was enough to stop Sora in his tracks.

"You still want to fight? But Vexen's gone! So now you're free!" Sora insisted

"It doesn't matter what happens to him. I'm protecting Naminé from you. That's what's in my heart." Riku said, firmly. "Sora, I made a promise to Naminé. I promised…to keep her safe."

"Seems like a lot of people are doing that these days." Katy muttered

"You did?" Sora asked

"One night when Naminé and I were little, there was this meteor shower. Naminé started crying. She said "What if a shooting star hits the islands?" So I said "If a shooting star comes this way, I'll protect you!" Riku replied, holding his blade in the air at the end dramatically

Sounds familiar…

"You made a promise with a toy sword!" Sora exclaimed

"What? How do you know about that?!"

"Because…that was the promise I made to her that night! I would protect her. I said it."

"Don't lie! You weren't the one there that night!"

"YOU'RE the one who wasn't there. That was the night she gave her good luck charm to ME!"

"Her what?"

"Here…" Sora dug around in his pocket for the charm and pulled it out. "See?"

"Tell me…where did you get that?" Riku demanded, his eyes clearing as though he was about to remember Kai…

There was a high pitched ping and what looked like blue lightning zapped Riku on the forehead causing him to stagger slightly.

"Sora…nice try." He said his voice low as he got a tighter grip on his sword. "That one must be a fake, 'cause I've got the real one right here!" He exclaimed, pulling an identical charm out of his pocket.

Somewhere in the middle of this, Katy had sat down; following the heated conversation with her eyes and wishing she had some popcorn because this, right here, was better than cable. Although somewhere deep inside her was a twinge of jealousy. Last time she checked, wasn't _she_ Sora's girlfriend? I mean it wasn't official or anything but really…Who was this Naminé chick anyway. Katy wasn't the jealous type, but the girl was getting on her nerves…and she didn't even know her!

She was so lost in thought that she didn't realize that the two boys had begun to fight. Oops?

There was no point in getting involved, however when the spat ended, Sora the victor and Riku panting heavily.

"Riku…" Sora tried to reason with his friend, but he turned and ran off, dropping his charm as he went.

Sora and the others approached the duplicate cautiously as though they expected it to explode.

"Isn't that Naminé's good luck charm?" Donald asked

"Duh, Duckling." Katy scoffed

"It's just like mine." Sora said, picking it up. "How'd he get this?"

This time Katy really did slap her forehead. In both frustration and annoyance

Before she could say anything however, the charm DID explode.

Well…sort of…

"Wow! It turned into a card!" Goofy exclaimed

A card with a very familiar picture of a very familiar island on it.

"Well, let's go." Katy said after a beat of silence, her tone bitter.

"Are you okay?" Sora asked, suddenly concerned

"Peachy." She replied, trying to neutralize her tone. She was acting like a spoiled brat because Sora wanted to save a girl he used to know from unknown danger.

No…

That was the bullshit story that was fabricated for them to believe. If that was the case, she wouldn't be acting like this. Katy was jealous alright and she had every right to be.

"Katy really, Are you okay?" Sora's voice broke her out of her inner rant.

"I said I'm fine!" She snapped, crossing her arms over her torso, defensively.

"…Okay. Just making sure." Sora replied, leaning in to kiss her

She turned her head at the last minute so he kissed her cheek.

"Come on, let's keep going. I want to get out of this place ASAP." She said, walking ahead, leaving the others behind to be confused about her behavior.

Maybe she'd made a mistake coming back…

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**A/N: 5 reviews please!**


	13. Sora Didn't Remember Kairi

**Authors Note****: So this is the part where I apologize profusely and beg for your forgiveness. I don't expect a lot of people to still be reading, but i will anyway. School and finals took over my life and i had no time to do anything other than lock myself in my room and study. I'm not very good at multitasking, so this story wasn't very high up on my things to do. So no I'm pretty much going for it. I'll update as much as I can every day until I finish. Hope you guys are still out there...and don't want to kill me! The e-mails with all of the people who reviewed got deleted, so this time I'll just thank everyone who reviewed, checked those wonderful boxes, and read but didn't review. You're all awesome. This is a looooooong chapter, so enjoy!**

Disclaimer: don't anything recognizable. Just Katy.

* * *

As the four friends crossed the hall to the stairs, Donald and Goofy hesitated;

"I don't understand what's going on." Donald said, crossing his arms

"Let's just keep moving, okay? It doesn't matter." Sora retorted, impatiently

Katy rolled her eyes and sighed. She'd begun to repeat the same four words over and over in her head like a mantra. It's not his fault, It's not his fault, It's not his fault...

"It DOES matter!" The angry duck exclaimed. "How can you and Riku have the same memory? You can't both be right!"

"I'm wrong? Fine, then don't believe me!" Sora shot back, angrily

"No one said you were wrong, Sora." Katy said, attempting to keep the peace.

"Yeah, that's not what he meant. We're just kinda worried." Goofy explained

"Then let's ask Naminé! That should clear it up! Look, we don't have time to sit around, so let's GO!" Sora yelled, causing the others to shrink back.

"Sora, what happened to ya?" Goofy asked

"What's THAT mean?" Sora huffed, exasperated

"Well, ya always get real touchy when it comes to stuff about Naminé...but before we came to this castle, you didn't even remember what her name was." Goofy reasoned.

"Now Naminé is the only thing you talk about." Donald added

Katy wanted to fall to the floor and that God that they felt the way she did.

"It doesn't make sense." Goofy continued. "Maybe you should just slow down and think ahead about some of these things."

"Think ahead? What is the matter with you guys?" Sora demanded "You want me to abandon her?"

"No, that's not it-" Donald tried to protest

"Then do whatever you want! You can lay back and take a nap for all I care! I'M going to find Naminé!" Sora exclaimed before taking off up the stairs.

"Sora!" Donald and Goofy called after him with no avail.

The two turned to Katy, their eyes pleading with her to understand, after all, she usually did side with Sora.

"Don't worry. I'm with you on this one. Something is completely out of whack."

even as she was reassuring them, she knew that was probably the understatement of the century.

* * *

Meanwhile...

Naminé sat in her usual corner of the room, head bent over her sketchbook when Axel strode in.

"You're all that he's got left."

Naminé drew in a sharp breath and tried to shut out his words.

"So then, if you don't stop this, no one will." Axel continued, his voice monotonous

She gasped. He wanted her...to stop?

"But I...It's too late." She said, startled by the truth in her words.

"You shouldn't give up just yet." Axel said as he turned to leave the room.

When she thought he had gone, he spoke again

"Say, Naminé. Have you noticed? Marluxia doesn't seem to be around.

"What are you...saying?" She asked, confused. Didn't he _want _this to happen?

"Just that there's no one here who would want to get in your way."

She gasped, realizing what he was saying and jumped out of the chair in one fluid motion, sketchbook falling to the floor, and sprinting to the door as though she expected Axel to grab her at any moment.

"Just make it count." Axel said to the empty room after she'd gone, smirking to himself. "Now THIS should be interesting. Try to make it enjoyable, Sora. It's the least you can do for me, you know.

Axel was probably the biggest traitor of them all, he was just smart enough not to show it. For instance, he didn't ask questions about _why_ certain people, such as Sora's little girlfriend couldn't be seen in the crystal ball. He just sat bak and waited patiently for the day the others would realize she was there.

* * *

Meanwhile...

Sora rushed up the stairs, skidding to a stop in the middle of the 12th floor. He took the card that had formed from Riku's version of Naminé's charm and stared at it. Jiminy Cricket climbed up on his shoulder, his expression disapproving

"Sora, that was no way to-"

"Keep it to yourself!" He snapped, cutting the cricket off.

Jiminy sighed in defeat and retreated.

Sora, now alone, Surged forward and took out the card to open the door.

"Sora?"

He whipped around angrily, ready to chew out whoever was distracting him, but he faltered when he saw Katy.

"Look unless you're here to help me, just go."

"Sora...I'm sorry." Katy gasped out, tears falling down her cheeks.

"Me too, look I'm sorry I yelled but Naminé-"

"Screw Naminé. She can rot here for all I care. I'm sorry that I couldn't help you. I-I'm supposed to be protecting you, but I couldn't even save you from yourself. I am so sorry, Sora. I hope that when you come to your senses that you can forgive me." Katy said, voice shaking as she struggled to keep it steady. She stepped forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek before leaving to find Donald and Goofy, hoping that he'd figure things out soon.

Sora, speechless from the exchange, shook his head to clear it of the guilt and hurt he was now feeling and used the card to open the door.

* * *

Familiar turquoise waters greeted him when he entered the next world. He looked around taking in everything from the white sand to the quaint little beach huts.

"I'm not going crazy am I?" He asked aloud "I know exactly where this is...Yeah! This is our island! Where Naminé and I used to play together!"

"Heeeeeey!" Voices called from his left as three familiar figures ran up to him.

"Whassup, Sora?" Wakka asked, his blitz ball tucked under his arm.

"So watcha wanna do today?" Selphie asked, her green eyes glittering

"Hey, guys!" Sora exclaimed "Am I glad to see you, uh..."

"Uh what?" Tidus asked, curious

"We got food on our faces?" Wakka joked

"Please, Wakka. Only you could be dumb enough to not notice food stuck to your face." Selphie said, a bit snottily

"Hey, whoa! That's a low blow, ya?" Wakka bit back, offended

"I dunno, Wakka. I think Selphie's on the mark."

"Aw, not you too, Tidus!"

"Oh, yeah. You're Selphie Wakka and Tidus, that's who you are!" Sora exclaimed, his memory a bit clearer.

"You hit your head?" Wakka asked, only half joking

"No, uh...just thinking out loud."

"I know...You're thinking about HER again." Selphie said, rolling her eyes

"Ohhh, I get it." Tidus laughed, grinning. "Yeah, he's a total zombie when she's on his mind."

"That would explain why he's actin' all funny towards us." Wakka reasoned

"I bet you want us to take a hike so the two of you can be ALONE, huh?" Selphie taunted, laughing.

"Umm...I guess." Sora answered, a bit confused

"All right, all right. We'll disappear for awhile. Go find her, cowboy." Selphie replied

"We'll try to be quiet while we SPY on you." Tidus joked, laughing.

"Hey, Sora's serious. Give the guy some room." Wakka said, shaking his head at his friends antics.

The three then left, still laughing while Sora wondered what the heck they were talking about.

Shrugging off the odd behavior of his friends, Sora made his way around the Island killing Heartless as he went. Te fights took much longer considering he didn't have backup. He finally made it to the pier where Riku had first disappeared into the darkness. Speaking of Riku, there he was standing with his back to him.

"Hey Sora. What's the big rush?" Riku asked, giving his friend a smile

Sora probably would have found this odd...if his memory wasn't failing him

"I know you...You're Riku!" He exclaimed, happy he remembered.

"Gee, thanks for remembering me." Riku retorted sarcastically. "It's been what, a couple of hours?"

"Er...never mind. Are you okay?" Sora asked suddenly remembering. That man...the one Axel killed..."Are you still under his control?"

"What are you TALKING about?" Riku asked, getting annoyed.

Sora thought for a minute before it clicked.

"Oh, I get it. You must be the Riku from my memories."

""The Riku from my memories"? Sounds like your stuck in the land of make-believe."

"I guess I kinda am." Sora said, laughing a little.

"Ha ha, you're such a kid. How are you going to take care of HER if you act like that?" Riku asked, the slightest bit of jealousy in his voice.

"Hey, speaking of her-" Sora began, wanting to know who everyone was talking about.

That's when the ground began to shake.

"What's happening?" Sora asked, alarmed

"How should I know?" Riku demanded, also looking worried. "Whatever it is, it can't be good. I'm gonna go warn the others."

"Ok, then I should go-"

"I know, I know. It's your job to look after her! Go, Sora!"

"Okay!" Sora said, taking off even though he didn't have the slightest clue where he was going.

* * *

What felt like years later, Sora managed to plow through the multitude of Heartless and reach the source of the danger. It basically looked like a piece of Destiny Islands was floating in the middle of swirling purple clouds.

It was extremely familiar.

He ran to the edge to make sure that there really was no where to go, there wasn't. He turned around and almost backed up off the cliff. In front of him was a ginormus shadow that looked ready to tear into him.

Also very familiar.

He ran at it, going through epic lengths to kill it. When he finally did, it gave a roar and massacred into a million pieces of darkness.

"Okay...I have to keep her safe." Sora said to himself, looking around for a clue as to who she might be. When he could think of no one, he said the only name he could think of, the only name that made sense, the only name he remembered.

"Naminé, can you hear me?"

He whipped around and grinned. She was right behind him, a sad look in her big blue eyes.

"Naminé!" He exclaimed, running up to her

"Sora, you really came for me." She said, her voice holding a tone of disbelief.

Sora nodded vigorously and took her hand

"It's you...it's really you. I've been through so much just to see you."

"Yes. I wanted to see you too. But, this isn't right. I messed up. I wanted to see you...but this isn't the right way."

"Naminé?"

"I was lonely for so long. I just couldn't bear it anymore. So I called out to your heart and had you come all the way out to this place. You came for me and I'm so...so happy, but...but to your heart I had to-"

"Don't worry. I'm here because I promised that I would protect you."

Naminé smiled sadly

"Sora...thank you. And I'm sorry." She said, removing her hand from his.

Sora frowned, confused as she stepped back

"I'm not supposed to be in this picture." She said

"That's true." A stronger version of Naminé's voice answered.

Sora whipped around and saw that she was behind him as well.

"Naminé?"

"That isn't me. I'm not there." The stronger voice of the Naminé double continued.

"I don't really exist inside your heart." The more timid Naminé said. "I don't exist in anyones heart. I never have existed anywhere."

If Sora was confused before, he was going insane now...

"What are you saying? What's gotten into you?" He asked, looking between the two girls. "Weren't we inseparable? Always together? But then you had to go away...I came here so I'd never lose you again!"

"Was it really me, you wanted to see?" The stronger voice asked.

"Of course it was! I know...I've forgotten a lot of things in this castle, but never anything about you!" He fished around in his pocket and pulled out the charm. "Look! You gave this to me, didn't you?"

"You have it! My good luck charm!" The timid voice said

"No, Sora! Don't believe me!" The stronger one exclaimed.

"What am I supposed to do?" He asked aloud

"Think, Sora. Think just one more time. About who's most special to you." The strong voice pleaded. "Call out to that piece of memory that glimmers faintly deep inside your heart. No matter how far away the light gets, your heart's voice will always reach it."

"Who's most special to me? That's an easy one..."

He glanced down at the charm just as he began to say;

"It's you Nami-"

Then the charm changed before his eyes. Into something more familiar. The timid voice of Naminé was gone and the one that was left began to change into, into...

"Who was that?" Sora asked himself as the dark clouds faded around him. "I can't remember her, but she feels so... familiar.

I believe this is the part of the game where us players want to smack him upside the head and scream IT'S KAIRI YOU IDIOT! THE GIRL WE SPENT ALL LAST GAME TRYING TO SAVE!

Anyway...back to the story

More confused than ever, Sora called out to Naminé a few time, but with no avail. With a heavy heart he made his way back into Castle Oblivion. However he was relieved when he saw her standing in the hallway.

"Naminé! It isn't you...the person whose most special to me." He said breathlessly

Just what every girl wants to hear, huh?

"It's not you...right?" He asked, still unsure.

"No. The girl you really care about... The one who was always with you...It's not me. It's her."

"But then who...who is it? Cuz I can't...think of her name. If she's so special, then why can't I remember?"

"Because I went into your memories and-"

"Let ME explain this." A voice from behind them called.

Oh lord, Riku has horrible timing.

"Plain and simple. Your memory is a train wreck. Your not the one who's meant to protect Naminé. It's supposed to be me! But you and your messed up memories are always in the way, Sora!

And on that happy note Sora and Riku began to fight. Again. For like the millionth time.

* * *

"Riku-" Sora tried to talk to his friend who, as usual, had been defeated.

"Want some more?" Riku shouted, refusing to be reasoned with.

A blast of dark energy laid Sora out on the floor, causing Naminé to cry out. Riku grinned evilly and stalked toward Sora.

"Looks like I win." Riku sneered

"Riku, stop!" Naminé cried.

Riku ignored her

"You're through." Riku exclaimed, about to stab Sora through the heart with his blade.

"I said STOP!" Naminé screamed

Like it had once before, a flash of what looked like blue lightning came down on Riku's forehead, knocking him out cold.

Sora sat up slowly, looking at his friend in shock

"Riku?..." He asked, shaking him slightly. When he wouldn't respond, he looked up at Naminé accusingly. "What did you do? What did you do to him?"

Before the trembling blonde could answer, a dark corridor opened next to her and Larxene stepped out.

"Broke his heart. Well, more like smashed it really."

"Smashed...his heart? Then...what's gonna...What's gonna happen to Riku?"

Larxene threw back her head and laughed.

"Oh, you're so much fun to watch. If it's Riku you're worried about, then don't. Because Riku was never really here."

"What do you mean?" Sora demanded

"Do you really think I'm just gonna say it? That's too easy! Oh, what to do?

"Quit the games!" Sora yelled, swiping at her with the Keyblade and missing, giving Larxene the chance out kick him in the gut, once again laying him out on the floor.

"Fine, have it your way. I know it will kill you to hear this, but I think I can live with that. That thing lying there is just a puppet that Vexen made as an experiment. No more than a toy. It's laughable really. It called you a fake but it was a fabrication all along."

"Not Riku? A fake?" Sora asked from his place on the floor

"Fake in every possible way. It was only finished recently. How could it remember anything? You get it? It's memories were planted by Naminé, not real." Larxene said, picking up the Riku Replica and tossing it aside. "Yup that means all this time it was picking fights with you over memories that were counterfeit, trumped up, and completely bogus. Is that the truth Naminé?"

Naminé, still quivering, said nothing.

"Oh, she's so cute, but behind that little face, you do awful things."

"Naminé?..." Sora asked, feeling betrayed

"You're so stupid. Don't you get it now? That's what Naminé's powers are about! She can enter, rearrange and even create new memories-of anything, even things that never happened. The girl you've been trying to protect all this time-is really a manipulative witch who shackles people's hearts!"

Sora gasped

"Then...my memories...are all...

"Oh, you do get it. Lies, lies, all lies! Just Naminé's illusions, nothing more. Binding you in the chains of your own memories was central to our trap. It makes me tingle to think how easily you were duped. So close to it-were almost there. This was our only chance to turn the Keyblade Master into our puppet but-That jerk Axel, he used Naminé to betray us! So now I'm left with no choice but to eliminate you!"

"You'll pay..." Sora glared, still unable to get off the floor.

Naminé, with a sudden burst of courage, ran in front of Larxene attempting to shield Sora with her tiny body.

"Don't!"

"Huh? It's a little late for the witch to grow a conscience." Larxene sneered. Last time I checked, YOU'RE the one who fooled around with his memories and created this whole mess."

"I know, but-" Naminé tried to choke out

"I should tell you that I'm in an EXTREMELY foul mood. Thanks to you all our plans are ruined!" Larxene exclaimed, slapping the blonde witch across the face.

"Naminé!" Sora exclaimed

"What's this? Are you upset? And you don't even actually know her!"

"Maybe not...but I still...made a promise." Sora gasped out, still in pain.

"What?" Larxene asked

"A promise to Naminé. To keep her safe. Maybe my memories are fake, but the promise is real to me. That's why...I'll keep it."

"Hmph. You're such an idiot. There is no promise and there never was. You're just delusional. Must you insist on playing the hero? Whatever. If that's the way you want it...you're going down alone!" Larxene said, ready to plunge her claw into Sora's skull.

She was deterred by a short Keyblade.

"Jeez lady. Has anyone ever told you that you talk WAY too much?"

Sora looked up and grinned

"Katy!" He croaked out.

"Hey, babe. Nice to see you still remember me. I brought the cavalry too." She said, gesturing to Donald and Goofy, but keeping her eyes on Larxene.

"You guys found me!"

"Of course! We were worried about you." Goofy said

"And we promised. We promised we would protect you!" Donald added.

"We did. Especially me. I'm sorry I left you, I thought it'd be good for you to figure things out alone. Not my best idea." Katy said, grinning sheepishly at Sora over her shoulder. She turned back to Larxene and glared.

"You're going down psycho bitch!"

"Fine have it your way. More pain for you means more fun for me."

With the four of them, Larxene stood no chance. She was down in a matter of minutes.

"No...No! I refuse to lose to a bunch of...losers!" Larxene exclaimed, staggering on the spot. "I think I'm...I'm fading? No, this isn't...the way I...I won't...ALLOW..."

And just like that, she was gone. Just like Vexen.

When she'd faded completely, the four made there way over to Naminé, who was sitting on the floor in front of the Riku Replica.

"You must be Naminé. It's good to meet ya. We're friends of Sora's and my name is-" Goofy began

"You're Goofy, and you're Donald." Naminé said, a small smile on her face. Then she turned to Katy nervously and the smile melted. "And you're Katy." She almost whispered. Katy nodded, keeping her expression emotionless

"How did you know that?" Donald asked the blonde, confused.

"Congratulations Sora! You finally found your friend. I'm so happy for ya!" Goofy exclaimed

"Gee there sure are a lot of questions." Jiminy pointed out. "Naminé, I know this won't be easy for ya, but could you tell us what happened?"

"Of course. It's my fault after all." The blonde said, looking up from the floor. "I took the people and memories that were inside Sora's heart...and little by little I replaced them with false memories."

"What about Sora's promise?" Donald asked.

"Made up. It was fake. Sora never really promised me anything. Me being with him on the islands-that was a lie, just like everything else. We never met. I was never Sora's friend. Those memories weren't real."

"So that means you were the one screwing around with _everyone's_ memories." Katy reasoned

"Is there any way to get back what we forgot?" Jiminy asked.

"I can fix everything if we go to the thirteenth floor." Naminé said, nodding. "But Marluxia, he-"

"I bet he's the one who made you tamper with all our memories." Jiminy guessed.

"If I didn't obey, he said I'd be locked in this castle forever. I've been alone for so long..."

"So you did what he told ya because you were lonely?" Goofy asked

"I'm so sorry." Naminé said sincerely, her voice shaking.

"Don't be. Please don't cry." Sora pleaded

Apparently he still wasn't good with crying girls.

"Oh...of course. I know I don't really have the right to."

"That's not what I meant!" Sora said

"What?" Naminé asked, confused.

"It's like this. I'm not really happy about you messing with my memories. But, you know...I can't really get mad at you for it either. These memories you gave me, in my head I know there lies, but they still feel right. Like the promise I made you. I promised that I'd protect you and never make you cry. So until I get my memories back, can you smile and try to be happy? If you cry, I'll feel guilty, like I broke my promise."

"Sora..." Naminé said, rendered speechless.

"Oh, brother. That was a little much.

"It's okay, Sora always gets like this every time he's around a girl!" Goofy laughed

"Aw, cut it out." Sora protested. "I thought you guys lost your memories too.

"Too bad. Friends don't forget the good stuff." Donald snickered.

When they were done laughing, Naminé decided to remain on the 12th floor with Riku, while the others went up to the 13th.

As they approached the stairs, Sora grabbed Katy's arm and pulled her aside.

"Katy. I'm so sorry...for everything. I was such a jerk and-"

"It wasn't your fault, Sora. It wasn't all Naminé's either." She said when he started to protest. "It was them. Organization XIII. And all I want to do right now is go kick their asses for screwing around with our heads."

Sora grinned and leaned in to kiss her and this time she let him.

"I made you a promise too. I-I can't remember what it is right now. But I swear, when I remember I'll keep it."

"I know you will." Katy said, grabbing his hand.

Together, they followed the others up to the 13th floor.

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**Please Review! If anyone's still reading that is...**


	14. Namine Didn't Get the Guy

**Authors Note****: Greetings my wonderful readers! Before we delve into this rather long authors note, I'd like to thank; SUNTAN140, ultima-owner, soraroxas365, Bubbles of Ebil, SpringBorn, ****ccsakura21, Deadly Papegoja, CatchingForRain, and kingdomdisney for reviewing. Also a big thanks to; lunermaster54 for adding BOMH to story alert and rachie rae08794 for adding K'sK to their favorite stories list. ****Yes, I realize I haven't updated like I said I would, but that's because I realized that this is...drumroll please...the FINAL chapter of The Beat of My Heart. So that of course caused me to freak out and rush to beat my game on COM so I could find out what the hell happens at the end as well as rewriting this chapter about 10 times over and stressing about the ending, loose ends, the sequel, blah blah blah. So after all that, this is the final product. I hope you guys enjoyed reading even though it took way longer than I wanted. I was ecstatic to see that I reached 100 reviews for this story. That's the most reviews I've ever gotten on any story EVER, so thanks so much for the support. I hope you like how I decided to end everything. An epilogue will be up roughly an hour after this chapter. Depends on how long it takes to write it. Sequel should be up soon too, I'm waiting for my KH2 strategy guide to come in the mail before I start. Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything KH related. Just Katy, my OC

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Sora, Katy, Donald and Goofy ascended to the thirteenth floor and started down a dimly lit hallway. Lagging behind, Sora pulled out the newly transformed lucky charm and stared at it as though he were hoping it would tell him to whom it belonged to.

"Who was it? Who's most important to me?"

Honestly, if he had to answer that question right now, especially since his head was a little clearer, he'd probably say Katy, but he knew that she wasn't the particular person that was nagging at the edges of his mind. Besides, he'd like to think that Katy would have told him if she had given him the charm. He closed his eyes and wracked his ruined memory, trying to come up with some glimmer of an answer.

"Nothing." He sighed, drawing the others' attention

"Can't you remember?" Donald asked, although he probably knew the answer

"No. I only remember Naminé." Sora said, glumly feeling the slightest sting of resentment towards the blonde. "C'mon you guys, don't you remember anything at all?"

Donald sighed and shook his head.

"No. Sorry, Sora. It's important, but I just can't remember... I don't want to be, but I'm getting scared."

"Then, we should really make a promise." Goofy declared, as though that would solve all of their problems.

And believe me, they had a LOT of problems. Sure enough the other three looked over at him, confused.

"Huh?"

"What you said back there kinda got my brain a-thinkin'. Whenever you make a promise that's super-duper big, maybe it gives you the courage to face the scary stuff."

"Courage..." Sora repeated

"Yeah! Let's do it!" Donald agreed, excitedly. "Even if we get scared, or in trouble- or even if we get separated-"

"Or even if we sorta forget each other-" Goofy added

"Whatever happens, we're friends!" Sora concluded, a goofy smile on his face.

Katy rolled her eyes at the sheer cheesiness of it all and laughed.

"Yep, sounds good."

"All for one and one for all!" Donald cheered, causing the others to titter behind their hands.

The two talking animals ran ahead of the teenagers, talking animatedly amongst themselves. Sora turned to Katy and grinned.

"After all thats happened, I hope we're more than just friends." He teased

"I don't know, you've screwed things up more than a couple of times...Maybe I should ditch you for Riku...he's hotter anyway." Katy laughed, skipping away since she knew he'd probably chase her after that comment.

She wasn't disappointed. He grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him.

"You better have been kidding." Sora warned, pouting like a little kid.

"Relax. Riku's a creep."

"So...we are more than friends?" Sora asked, hopefully.

"Let's just say that if anymore fangirls try to mess around with your mind to brainwash you into loving them, I'm not going to be so nice."

Sora grinned and snickered slightly

"What's so funny?" Katy asked, confused

"Nothing. Just imagining the look on Riku's face when I tell him your my girlfriend."

Katy sighed and shook her head.

"Yes. You _would_ be thinking about that right before an epic battle."

This sobered Sora up a bit and his expression grew grimmer.

"Yeah, your right. I should focus."

"Don't worry, I'm right behind you...and I promise I won't almost die this time."

"You better not. There's still that promise I have to keep that I can't remember."

The teens continued to banter as they grew closer and closer to the top of the castle.

Meanwhile...

Back on the twelfth floor, Naminé was still kneeling in front of the unconscious Riku Replica, looking as though someone had killed her puppy. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts, she didn't hear the dark corridor open up behind her or the figure that stepped out of it as he approached.

**KHKHKHKH**

Marluxia paced the length of the thirteenth floor, pausing when he heard Axel enter behind him.

"You have some nerve to show your treasonous face around here... Some nerve indeed-"

"Treasonous? I don't know what you could possibly be talking about." Axel interrupted in a sarcastically innocent voice.

"Why let Naminé go? If it weren't for your needless meddling- we could have turned the Keyblade Master to come and serve us."

"Oh, right, your big plan. You use Naminé to rewrite Sora's memory piece by little piece and he turns into her total puppet. Then using Naminé and Sora together, you and Larxene overthrow the Organization. Am I right? I would say that makes YOU the traitor, Marluxia." Axel summarized with a smirk.

"Since when were you suspicious of us?" Marluxia asked, bluntly

"Do either one of us have the heart to believe anyone?"

"So you only eliminated Vexen to obtain proof of our plan?"

"That, I didn't want to do, but it was your order." Axel replied, summoning his chakrams. "You remember the order? "You must eliminate the traitor." I always follow orders, Marluxia." Axel sneered. "Larxene paid the price for disloyalty when she disappeared. You must do the same!"

On the last word Axel jumped at Marluxia, chakrams spinning. The pink-haired man jumped back, summoning his scythe as he did so, bringing it down through the handles of Axels weapons. Axel simply summoned the chakrams back to himself and smirked.

"The Organization's betrayed. In that name, I will annihilate you."

"That line's not you." Marluxia said, scythe still drawn.

"Well, had to try it once, you know." Axel replied, once again lunging at his opponent.

Marluxia dodged Axel's blows and sent a blast of what looked like darkness mixed with rose petals at the skinnier man, who was just able to bring his chakrams up in time to block. Marluxia laughed coldly, another ball of dark energy and deadly flower petals appeared in his hands, this time causing something, or rather some_one_ to appear.

Axel scoffed

"Is that your shield?" He asked, gesturing to a quivering Naminé who Marluxia was holding in front of him. "Won't do you any good I'm afraid."

"I wonder." Marluxia asked himself aloud. He continued in a slightly louder voice; "Are you listening, Sora?"

At that moment Sora and the others entered through the door behind Axel, who cursed slightly under his breath.

"Axel says he's willing to hurt Naminé to get to me. You won't let that happen will you?" The Pink-haired man asked, smugly already anticipating the answer.

Sure enough the others drew their weapons.

"Oh, come now. You're Marluxia's puppet already?"

Marluxia then realized Katy's presence and for a moment forgot the confrontation at hand.

"What is she doing here?" He asked, eyes narrowing at Axel

"Don't look at me. I had nothing to do with it." Axel drawled, smirking.

"He's right. I guess I have you to thank for my time in The Nothing, Marluxia. I have to say, the windows were easy enough to figure out. I probably would have gotten out faster if it hadn't been for the man you sent in to baby-sit me."

Both Axel and Marluxia's eyes widened in obvious disbelief.

"Demyx?" Marluxia asked

Katy nodded affirmative.

"Let me get this straight. Demyx, _our_ Demyx, was able to keep you from escaping The Nothing faster than you would have if he weren't there." Axel asked, clearly unable to wrap his head around the information.

Katy nodded yes again. She was determined to protect the man who helped her get here. She'd seen what happened to Larxene and Vexen and she didn't want that to happen to Demyx. He was probably the reason Sora was here right now in one piece despite his train-wreck of a memory. She wasn't going to give him up. Not without a fight.

"Fine, that may be true even if it is extremely unlikely, but I'm curious, only Organization members know how to get to Castle Oblivion. Tell me, who told you how to get here?" Marluxia asked, clearly thinking he had her cornered.

Katy smiled sweetly and took out the piece of paper Demyx had given her at the library at Disney Castle.

"I went to see Queen Minnie. Although she couldn't tell me where you were, her library certainly had some useful information."

Axel stalked over to her, grabbing the paper from her hands. His eyes grew angry as he read it and when he finished the page went up in flames. He began to mutter darkly to himself, the only thing she was able to get out of it was something about King Mickey. Not surprising really. She guessed that from the beginning. The King had probably known about this place and documented it in case he or anyone else needed to find it.

"Well what do you know. The kid _can _follow orders. Good to know I won't have to track him down as well. Axel said, sarcasm dripping from his tone.

Katy nodded smugly, glad that Demyx was safe...for now.

"Your the reason Katy was in a coma? After Axel, your next, Marluxia!" Sora exclaimed, extremely angry.

"Hmph." Axel snorted, turning to look at the teen. "Now, Sora. We've got more in common than you might think. I'd really rather not fight you...But I can't dishonor the Organization, now, can I?" He asked, lighting his chakrams on fire as he did.

Then they all sat down for some tea and cookies. Yeah, I wish sometimes...but no. Weapons drawn, Sora and the others proceeded to fight the first of their epic battles.

After about twenty minutes and an extremely frustrating fight. Sora, Katy, and the talking animals emerged victorious.

"You're better than I thought you'd be." Axel wheezed, smirk still present. "It was worth saving you after all."

"Saving me? What d'ya mean?" Sora asked, more than a little confused

Axel chuckled as he summoned a dark corridor

"Sorry, I would hate to kill the suspense." He drawled before disappearing despite Sora's protests.

It was then Sora realized that Marluxia and Naminé were nowhere to be found.

Motioning for the others to follow him, he ran forward through the door on the other side of the room.

**

* * *

**

Sure enough, Marluxia was waiting for them in the next room.

"You've defeated Axel." He laughed evilly "The Keyblade's power—how I've longed to make it my own."

"Let Naminé go!" Sora demanded.

"You've no chance of winning." Marluxia placed a gloved hand on Naminé's shoulder. "Naminé... Erase Sora's memory."

Naminé and the others gasped, horrified

"But if I do that..." The blonde protested

"That's right. Sora's heart will be destroyed."

"His heart destroyed?" Goofy gasped

"You can do that?" Donald asked in disbelief.

Katy said nothing. She simply moved a step in front of Sora and took a defensive stance, eye twitching. This guy was getting on her nerves.

"I'd rather have preferred him unmarred, but he can be rebuilt—more to my liking with time." Marluxia continued. He turned back to the blonde "Naminé, do it."

"No!" The witch exclaimed. "Sora forgave me even when I deceived him. So how can I destroy his heart? There's no way! I don't care what happens to me. I won't hurt Sora! I won't do it!"

Marluxia leered down at her, seething.

"Then you will-"

"Do it, Naminé!" Sora interrupted, causing everyone to look at him in shock. "I don't care! You can erase my memory!"

"Sora! Why'd you say that?" Goofy exclaimed

Sora ignored him.

"Just do it! Erase my memories. Destroy my heart. I promised! I'll always protect you! You have to believe me!"

"Sora..." Naminé choked out, rendered speechless

"I don't need any memories to take on someone like Marluxia!"

"You bet! Even it Sora forgets it all, Goofy, Katy and I won't forget!" Donald agreed.

"Donald's right! We can remember everything for Sora!"

"See, I'll have all my friends' memories, so I can piece my own together again."

"You ignorant fool." Marluxia cut in. "If Naminé uses her powers to erase your memory, you'll be nothing but an empty shell. Your heart will no longer be able to feel or to care. Just like—Vexen's pathetic imitation of your Riku."

"Take another guess." A very familiar yet very annoying voice interrupted.

They all gasped and Katy muttered a 'didn't see that coming' under her breath as the Riku Replica appeared out of a dark corridor and flew at Marluxia who just barely managed to dodge.

"It can't be!" He exclaimed.

"Riku!" Sora called out with relief.

"No. Just an imitation." The replica replied, glaring at Marluxia.

"You're a shell—a shell who has had everything taken! Everything!" Marluxia protested rather desperately

"What can you possibly think I ever had? Both my body and my heart are fake. But...there's one memory I'll keep...even if it's just a lie! Whether it was a phantom promise or not...I will protect Naminé!" Riku declared

"Imbeciles." Marluxia muttered to himself as he drew his scythe, preparing for battle. "You would willingly shackle your heart to a chain of memories born of lies? You would be one who has a heart, yet cast aside your heart's freedom? You turn from the truth because your heart is weak—You will never defeat me!"

The minute the battle started, Katy knew something was up. It was too easy. The whole thing, just too easy. It ended quickly enough and they watched as Marluxia disappeared.

"Is he gone?" Donald asked

Sora grinned and flashed him a thumbs up.

"You could say that." A painfully familiar voice said.

And then, there was Marluxia, stepping unscathed out of a dark corridor.

"However, what you destroyed was merely an illusion of me.

"So what?" The Riku Replica snarled, leaping through the air and stabbing...yet another illusion

"Another imitation." The Replica sighed.

"So he's really in there?" Sora asked, gesturing towards the large door in front of them.

"Yes." Naminé answered.

"I knew it. I can feel his power. It's trying to destroy my heart."

"Gawrsh, we'll just take care of him together." Goofy reasoned

"Sora, C'mon!" Donald exclaimed

Sora turned to the Replica

"Riku...Protect Naminé."

The Replica looked over, surprised

"You don't...mind?"

"Should I?" Sora asked

"All right." Riku Replica nodded in consent.

Sora and the others made there way over to the door. Sora turned to face Katy and grinned.

"Deja vu, anyone?" He teased

Katy laughed.

"Do you even remember what happened last time?" She asked, still snickering.

Sora reached out and took her hand, his expression serious.

"Yes. I'll never forget that. I promised that I'd protect you. I said that I wouldn't let you...die like all of the other Protectors...but I didn't. You got hurt and the look on your face, all the blood... I-I thought you were going to die. And I remember being so scared-"

"It doesn't matter anymore. I'm okay, Sora, and frankly the fact that you remember what happened at all makes up for the fact that you couldn't help me...not that I ever blamed you in the first place. I just did what I was meant to do."

Sora sighed, obviously still feeling guilty, but nodded.

"Okay, but I swear this time will be different. Nothing it going to happen to you. I promise."

"I believe you." Katy said smiling.

On that mushy note, the party entered the door to face Marluxia...for real this time.

**

* * *

**

They entered the room and found themselves on a platform made of stained glass surrounded by swirls of what looked like thick, grey fog. Marluxia was floating above the platform,sneering down at them.

"Soon the emptiness will shatter your heart—here in this world of nothingness!

Marluxia threw a blob of darkness and rose petals out in front of him causing a giant hurricane to form, the strong winds threatening to throw Sora and Katy from the platform. As though that wasn't enough, a large and rather threatening looking Heartless stepped out from the whirlwind and loomed over them, Marluxia sitting atop it.

"As lightless oblivion devours you—drown in the ever blooming darkness!"

Then the battle raged on. The battle was mainly Sora and Katy fighting with Marluxia since Donald and Goofy had been reduced to cards. Marluxia, unfortunately, was an extremely skilled fighter and it took a little over an hour of dodging his rather sharp scythe and magic attacks studded with rose petals and attacking with many combinations of sleights to defeat him. It didn't help that the Heartless he was using as a pack mule dealt out quite a bit of damage as well. There were a couple of really _really_ close calls. And as always there were the damned cards in general. Oh how those cards needed to be destroyed. Life could have been much easier if they didn't have to duck for cover every five freaking minutes to reload their decks. Finally though, Marluxia fell and both Sora and Katy emerged, exhausted, but without any mortal wounds. (Such as 30 foot long swords sticking out of their chests.) And so in a flurry of rose petals and darkness and with a rather long and irritating scream Marluxia faded.

Wasting no time, Sora and the others raced back into the previous room, Donald and Goofy shutting the doors behind them so Sora could seal them shut with the Keyblade. Sora turned to the Riku Replica and Naminé.

"You okay, Riku?" He asked, hoping nothing had attacked them while they were fighting Marluxia.

"Not Riku. I'm a fake. I can't remember why I was created, or where, or when. All that's inside of me—is time with you and Naminé. But I know those memories are not real."

"Gee, Naminé, can't you use your magic to put Riku's memory back to normal?"

"Well, I..." Naminé began, tentatively

"It's alright. I'll deal." Riku Replica said, turning away from them to descend down the stairs."

"Wait!" Sora called out, causing the Replica to stop. "Who cares if someone created you? You are you and nobody else. You have your own heart inside you. Those feelings and memories are yours and yours alone. They're special!"

"Sora, you're a good guy." Riku Replica said turning halfway to face him. "I don't have to be real to see how real your feelings are. That's good enough." With that final statement, he continued down the stairs despite Sora's calling after him.

There was a beat of silence before Donald asked Naminé the question that was on everyone's mind.

"Can you put our memories back?"

"Yes. Not remembering something doesn't really mean that it's gone." Naminé replied

"What d'ya mean?"

The blonde went on to explain;

"When you remember one thing, that leads to remembering another—and then another and then another. Our memories are connected. Many pieces are linked together, like they're in a chain that makes up each of us. I don't actually erase any memories—just take apart the links and rearrange them. You still have all your memories."

"So you can put them back?" Katy asked

"Yes, but first I have to undo the chains of the memories I made on my own. After I've done that, I have to gather up the memories scattered across each of your hearts and then reconnect them. It might take some time, but I think it might work. No—it will work. I'm sure. It's my turn to look after you."

"Alright. We all really trust you."

"Wait a second blondie, you said you'd have to undo the links of memories that you made. That means we won't remember anything that happened here." Katy reasoned, catching on to the gist of things.

"Not even you?" Sora exclaimed.

"I'm sorry. It's the only way, I'm afraid." Naminé confessed, turning away from them and taking a few steps away. "Sora, you have a choice. You can lose your memories of this castle and reclaim your old ones...or keep your memories here and give up the memories that you've lost."

"Do I have to...to choose?" Sora asked, weakly

"That's generally what a choice means." Katy said with a roll of her eyes, suddenly very interested with her shoes

Sora looked form the sad faces of Donald and Goofy and over to Katy's defeated looking form. She thought he'd choose Naminé. He couldn't blame her...that's what he'd been doing since he got here. But looking at her now, and thinking of the other girl that he couldn't remember, he knew what he had to do. He wanted to remember the other girl, she was important to him, he could tell. And Katy...she was more than just a friend to him now. He needed to remember. He needed to remember everything about her, not just the one memory of his failed attempt to protect her. And most of all, he needed to remember the promise he made her so he could keep it. He couldn't let her down again. With his decision made, he turned back to Naminé;

"Make me like I was."

Katy's eyes shot up from the ground and met his in disbelief and happiness.

Meanwhile, Naminé's shoulders tensed.

"Oh, okay. Nobody needs to keep a bunch of memories that aren't real, right? You want to remember all of the people who were really important to you." Her sad blue eyes drifted over to Katy "Anyone would choose that."

**

* * *

**

As Naminé led them to a room deeper within the castle, she explained to them that they would have to sleep during the time that she was fixing their memories. They finally reached a room with three large flower-like pods in it.

"To remember again, we have to sleep in one of those?" Donald asked

"Yes. It's going to take a little time, but I'll take care of you."

"Gawrsh when we wake up, we won't remember who you are anymore." Goofy realized.

"But how are we gonna thank you?" Donald asked

"Don't worry about that." Jimminy Cricket piped from Sora's shoulder. "I'll just make a big note in my journal and it will say "thank Naminé"."

"Oh, good. That makes me feel better." Donald muttered to himself

"Well, goodnight then, Naminé!" Goofy said cheerfully, giving the blonde a wave.

"Goodnight, Goofy." Naminé said softly as the two talking animals made their way to their own pods. "You too, Sora." She said, gesturing to the largest pod in the center.

Sora nodded

"Okay."

He walked over to Katy and grinned at her sheepishly

"See you when I wake up?"

Katy's answer was to lean up and kiss him hard on the lips, her fingers tangling in the hair at the nape of his neck as she tried to drag hm closer. When they pulled away she grinned at him, trying to hold back tears.

"Wouldn't miss it for anything."

Sora nodded and pressed another kiss to her forehead before turning to Naminé who smiled sadly.

"Goodbye, Sora."

"No, not goodbye. Until later." Sora said, holding out his pinky finger to make a promise. Naminé's smile brightened a bit and she linked her pinky with his.

"Until later, Sora." The blonde said as he climbed into the pod and it closed behind him.

Almost immediately Sora's eyes fluttered closed and he was asleep."

This left two teenage girls left awake in the room, neither of which was crazy about the other.

Katy turned to Naminé, no longer bothering to hid the dislike and distrust in her eyes.

"So, blondie, what happen's to me?"

**

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**

**A/N: Epilogue will be up in a few!**


	15. Roxas

**Authors Note: This should tie up all loose ends and be a smooth transition right into the next story. Hope you guys like it!**

Disclaimer: Still own nothing KH related. Just Katy, my OC

**

* * *

**

**Epilogue**

Six Months Later

Katy sighed, obnoxiously as she watched Naminé draw in her sketchbook. She'd learned over the months that the blonde's drawings were how she manipulated people's memories. So much had changed in the six months Sora had been asleep. At first it was just Katy and Naminé inside Castle Oblivion...a recipe for disaster. Neither girl was fond of the other. Katy was convinced that Naminé was a manipulative witch with her own agenda to put Sora's memories the way she wanted them and Naminé thought Katy was out to get her...and was still a little bit stung that Sora had chosen his old memories over the ones she'd fabricated. So long story short, they weren't exactly the best of friends. They tolerated each other, if that. So while Naminé spent her days fixing Sora's memory, Katy usually spent her time exploring the castle. Castle Oblivion, she'd found out, was fully equipped with bedrooms, a kitchen, everything they needed to live while Naminé worked. Sometimes while she was roaming the halls, she could swear she saw the Riku Replica lurking around. He never spoke to her though...not surprising, he didn't actually know her. The the fateful day came, three months in to the restoration process. Katy was on her way back to the pod room when she heard Naminé scream. Running as fast as she could Katy ran into the room, weapons drawn. Standing in the center of the room with their hands above their heads were two men. One man was clothed all in red, only a small portion of his face showing and the other was clothed in a black Organization XIII cloak.

"Who are you?" Katy demanded

"Relax, Miss. Tannith, Naminé. We mean you no harm."

The man in red introduced himself as DiZ. The other man did not give them his name but DiZ reassured them that he was not with the Organization and he never had been. He found the cloak in the Castle and was using it to hide his identity, which he wanted to remain unknown.

At first, Katy wasn't buying it but after a few weeks with their presence, she began to trust them. It also helped that she wasn't getting any bad vibes from them. If they meant to hurt Sora, her "Protector sense" which she had dubbed it would tell her there was a threat. DiZ managed to convince the two girls to move Sora, Donald, and Goofy to an abandoned Mansion to a world known as Twilight Town. He told them that the Organization was still looking for Sora and that he'd be safer there. After much discussion about the matter, the girl's accepted. The mansion was nice and as a plus Katy could go into town during the day and actually interact with other people. A very good thing considering she had been going a bit crazy with only Naminé to talk to. And that led them to the present. Right now, Katy had left the white room, Naminé's room, and was on her way to the library to wait for for DiZ to show up. He said he needed to talk to her about something important. She'd only been waiting a few minutes when he arrived.

"Katyana. Glad you're here."

Katy winced at her full name. No one called her Katyana accept her mother. DiZ, however refused to use her nickname.

"Yep, I'm here. What's the problem?"

"I'm just going to get to the point. Naminé is having trouble stabilizing Sora's memories. There seems to be something missing..and I think I know what it is."

More than a little alarmed at the news, Katy motioned for DiZ to continue

He then went on to explain the concept of Nobodies. How when a person with a strong heart is turned into a heartless, an empty shell of sorts can take on the form of a person. Nobodies have no hearts or feelings. They don't even technically exist.

"So you sent tall, dark and creepy to go get Sora's nobody and you're gonna put him in some freaky computer generated Twilight Town until Naminé is ready for him to fuse back with Sora and you want me to baby-sit him?" Katy asked

"Exactly." DiZ replied

"Is Naminé a Nobody?"

"Yes."

"Whose Nobody is she?"

"That's her business. It's not my place to tell you."

Katy rolled her eyes, but nodded

"So why do I was to watch this kid? Why can't you? Or Cloaky?"

"Since you are Sora's Protector, and Roxas is essentially a part of Sora, you are almost required to do it."

Katy thought it over for a few moments, damning for being right.

"Fine. I'll do it...But I won't like it."

"Excellent." DiZ said, actually seeming pleased for once.

"When?" Katy asked

"In another few months, when the restoration is in it's final stages."

"Okay then." Katy said, hopping off the table she'd been sitting on and starting for the library's exit.

Sighing to herself as she walked back to her room, Katy rubbed her temples in the hopes of preventing the headache she felt coming on. It had been a long day—hell a long six months and it wasn't even close to being over. She was actually looking forward to this babysitting job, at least it would give her something to do. Flopping down on her bed, Katy closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Her last thought was about Roxas. She wondered if he was anything like Sora.

**

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**A/N:**** And that's all until the sequel my dears! It will definitely be up by the end of the month so don't worry!**


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